By Baba Yusuf Abuja
Tricycle Riders Association (ATRA) has called on the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to intervene in the “incessant harassments and high charges” on them by the Directorate of Road Traffi c Services, otherwise known as Vehicle Inspection Offi ce (VIO). Making this appeal recently, Chairman of the Association (Keke NAPEP), Alhassan Haskie, decried that daily they suff er untold hardship in the hands of VIO offi cials, for unfounded off ences. He added that more often than not, most riders when arrested by VIO were charged N50, 000 per ‘off ence.’
He made the appeals when he paid a courtesy visit to AMAC Chairman, Abdulahi Candido, where the Association cried before the council leadership to quickly intervene. Haskie, who claimed ignorance of designated routes for their operations, noted that even at that off ences labelled on them were too meagre to warrant to attract heavy charge imposed. He, however, disclosed that the Association had over 3, 000 members cut across the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Responding, the AMAC boss noted that the Keke operators were important to the Council, but urged them to always obey traffi c policies in the nation’s capital. He, however, assured them that the Council would intervene, by interfacing with the FCTA offi cials on how to resolve the issues.
