Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, announced that beginning in January 2025, all commercial buses operating in Abuja will undergo profiling by the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS).
Wike made this statement during the FCT Renewed Hope Youth Empowerment Programme in Abuja on Thursday, where he also presented new cars to beneficiaries for use as taxis.
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“They are not paying a dime. No; the government is saying this is our support to feed your family and reduce the cost of transportation in the city… Abuja should compete with other cities in the world,” said the minister.
He urged the beneficiaries not to feel embarrassed about being empowered to become taxi drivers, noting that many Nigerians who shy away from such jobs locally readily take them up when abroad.
To address kidnapping and incidents of ‘one-chance’ robbery, the minister announced that starting January 2025, any commercial bus not properly registered with security agencies will not be permitted to operate within the nation’s capital.
“Most of the Keke Napep and most of the motorcycles are informants. Everybody here that is a beneficiary is being profiled by the security.
“And so what we are coming up with is that from January next year, there will be nobody that will operate as a taxi driver or a bus driver without having approval from security, with security profiling you and without going about with Abuja colour.
“Nothing like using any vehicle on the road. No, we won’t allow that. From January, we won’t allow that.
We will take the vehicle number, name of the drivers and the rest so everybody will have confidence that this is the vehicle I’m entering in case anything happens.”
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