October 29, (THEWILL) – The Cross River State Commissioner for Transport, Ekpenyong Cobham, says the present administration in the State has commenced moves to sanitise the road transportation sector of the State.
Cobham disclosed this in his office while reacting to a recent protest by some minibus drivers in Calabar.
He said the present administration in the State is emphatic about cleaning up the transportation sector in the State and will not allow a few people to determine the driving culture in the city.
He said as part of the government’s plans, illegal loading bays have been dislodged across the Calabar Metropolis.
In addition, an independent task force has been constituted to check the activities of drivers who park indiscriminately and cause traffic gridlocks in the State capital.
“One of our programmes is to dislodge the illegal loading bays that existed along NEPA office, Eleven Eleven, Stadium, and beside Fidelity Bank.
“We need to put an end to touting because of its negative effects and because these touts have introduced a ticket and tried to legitimise an illegality. No city in these modern times can entertain such a misnomer.
“Touting is an illegality and we cannot legalise it by selling tickets, besides, the revenue does not go to government but private pockets,” Cobham said.
He bemoaned the negative impact of these activities on the State’s economy and the negative impression it created, particularly to prospective investors.
He also disclosed that as part of the decongestion of the metropolis, a task force was set up for this purpose.
According to him, while Team Alpha will handle Calabar South, Team Eagle will take care of the Municipality.
“Our short-term programme is limited to decongesting the roads. This team is purely to decongest traffic, this is already bearing results because there is now a free flow of traffic around Watt Market axis as well as the Marian Market and drivers are now clearing to pick passengers,” he said.
He added that the leadership of the Unified Drivers Association has been carried along in all the programmes of the Ministry and that the protest was no basis for a protest as it was premeditated and masterminded by faceless individuals.
He also disclosed that it will not be business as usual in the transport sector of the State, adding that there is a need for reorientation.
About the Author
THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
