Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has stated that the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services will give security clearance to commercial bus and taxi drivers in the nation’s capital, effective from January 2025.
Speaking at the FCT Renewed Hope Youth Empowerment Programme in Abuja on Thursday, Wike stated that the move is to curtail kidnapping and cases of ‘one-chance’ robbery in Abuja.
The minister disclosed that any commercial bus or taxi driver who is not cleared by the security agencies will not be allowed to operate with the FCT.
He said, “Most of the Keke Napep and most of the motorcycles are informants. Everybody here who is a beneficiary is being profiled by 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. We won’t allow that starting in January.
“We will take the vehicle number, the names of the drivers, and the rest so everybody will have confidence that this is the vehicle I’m entering in case anything happens.”
Wike also handed over some new cars to beneficiaries to use as taxis. He encouraged the beneficiaries not to be ashamed that they are being empowered to be taxi drivers.
The minister stated that many Nigerians who reject taxi driving jobs at home gladly embrace such when they travel abroad.
“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,” he said.