The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday, inaugurated an 11-man Committee, Short Code *735# and social media App, to curtail the menace of road transport related crimes.
Amaechi, while inaugurating the committee in Abuja, said that the initiative would subsequently aid the creation of a long overdue database for the sector.
The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Sabiu Zakari, said that the Road Crime Control System (RCCS) project was conceptualised as a social service delivery programme in the year 2010.
He said that the programme, which was created by Messrs 2TOC Solution Limited, was forwarded to the ministry by the Nigeria Police having realised that it would thrive best in the ministry.
“The company has secured a code from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), which is *735# for passengers to derive the driver’s Electronic Number(EN) to ascertain the authenticity of the genuine transport unions and their membership.
“Having realised the importance of the solution, the Minister moved further and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Messrs 2TOC Solution and sought the collaboration of the critical and relevant stakeholders for effective implementation of the RCCS project.
“The decision to set up the committee was reached as a result of the advice sought from the Federal Ministry of Justice.
“Membership of the committee was drawn from the relevant stakeholders with the mandate to map out a strategy for effective flag-off of the project,” he said.
The minister urged the committee members to ensure that they come up with strategic recommendations towards a successful flag-off of the project due to the immense benefits it will bring to the sector.
Also speaking, Mr Benson Olatunji, Chief Executive Officer of Messrs 2TOC Solution Limited, said that the RCCS was targeted at providing a platform through which the public can prevent themselves from falling victims of kidnapping.
Olatunji said that every motor park approved and documented by the Road Safety Corps would be coded for the public to verify designated motor parks from illegal motor park operators.
He said that the transport code was a policy tool to verify transport union and prevent passengers from entering unregistered vehicles.(NAN)