Protesting Bus Drivers Block Onitsha Niger Bridge

By Julie Sylvia, Onitsha

Protesting minibus drivers, in the early morning of Tuesday, blocked the ever-busy Onitsha end of the River Niger bridge, Anambra State, to express their dissatisfaction over alleged incessant extortion by touts/illegal revenue agents and lack of motor parks.

The aggrieved protesters accused the Anambra State Government of not providing motor parks for them which resulted in the touts/illegal revenue collectors forcefully collecting money from them on pulling up in any bus-stop for loading or off loading.

One of the drivers who identified himself as Ugwoke Onyemaeti, said that they resolved to embark on the protest for Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo to feel the negative impact of what they were going through in the hands of the touts and come to their rescue, pointing out that they have been paying the agreed levy on mini buses but have no designated parks for them that ply to and from Onitsha, along the Onitsha/Asaba/Enugu express way.

“How can these touts continue to extort us after paying the agreed levy to the State Government. In any bus-stop we pull up, they will rush to us and say we are not suppose to park there, and forcefully collect thousands from us.

“Some of us who refuse to pay will be beaten black and blue for daring them, and that is why we protest for government to provide motor parks for us since we can’t pull up to pick or drop passengers at the bus-stop. We will continue the protest if nothing is done today to stop the touts and parks provided for us,” he vowed.

Also reacting , another driver who pleaded anonymity, hinted that they are being extorted on hourly basis in the name of checkmating the illegal activities of commercial bus drivers.

“How can touts checkmate our activities. Some of them are there on behalf of some government functionaries and make returns to them daily. There is problem in this State and I don’t know if Governor Soludo is being properly informed of what is happening in the transport sector in the State. He should not be there giving orders without physically coming out to ask us questions.

“That is how a good leader behaves, just like in the time of Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige, as the former Governor of the State. Even the roads that the Governor said he is doing, Ngige will come and inspect any road being done, to know if it is of the specified quality. So it is not just doing the roads,” he posited.

Reacting also, a local vigilante operative who did not want his name in the print said that he was among those sent to stop the protest by the drivers but that they could not because of the intimidating number of the protesting bus drivers.

“They are not suppose to block the Niger bridge as they protest because you have travellers from other parts of the country who will ply to and from Onitsha. We, security operatives left them with their protest to avoid bloody clash,” he explained.

The protest which lasted about two hours, resulted in long queue as the grid-lock caused was severe such that occupants of some vehicles who could not withstand the situation, came out from their vehicles in disbelief.

As at the time of filling this report, no security personnel were seen to assist even as the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC officials that have their Onitsha unit, adjascent to the scene, could not help out, over fear of attack by the aggrieved protesting drivers