Tension In Onitsha Motor Parks As Anambra Drivers Protest Sale Of Motor Parks To Highest Bidders

  

There was serious tension in Onitsha and all the over 300 public motor parks scattered in cities and communities of Anambra state yesterday as drivers protest what they called insensitivity of the government to sell the parks.

The tension nearly crippled vehicular movement for two days running now as the drivers engaged in a serious brain storming to counter the government should it impose the decision of concessioning the motor parks to agents.

  Drivers under the aegis of Anambra Drivers’ Welfare Association had raised the alarm over what they described as state government’s insensitivity in the concession of motor parks to the highest bidders across the state.

The drivers led by their National President of the Association, Mr. Nnamdi Okafor lamented on what will be the fate of their members should the motor parks management goes to the highest bidders , even as they condemned the publication in some national dailies calling for submissions from the public to manage the motor parks.

The drivers while narrating their ordeals in the hands of government agents and park urchins in charge of parks in the state in a crowded press conference disclosed that the recent handover of the parks to the highest bidders by the state government would further increase their problems.

 Okafor said that with the recent development, the drivers would be further subjected to multiple taxation which he said will not be to the interest of commuters, adding the bidders may have no good knowledge of park activities and would increase the crime rate in motor parks across the state as the contractors would be only interested in the money they paid to the state government with little or no attention to the security of the drivers and their passengers.

 

They called on Governor Willie Obiano to look into the recent development in the parks across the state with a view to reviewing the recent contracts, adding that the drivers should have been given at least 60 percent of the parks to manage owing to their wealth of experience in the business.

 

Okafor said: “There is no way driver can enter to perform surgical operation because it is not his line. In the same vein, traditional rulers and other money bags who do not have any knowledge of the parks should not have been given the parks to manage while the drivers that contribute over 90 percent of the revenue to the state coffers would be left behind”.

 

The National Secretary and Public Relations Officer, PRO, Mr. Francis Osondu and Kingsley Adiele respectively called on the state government to retrace their steps in the issue of the parks in the state to ensure that the recent security situation in the state is consolidated by giving the parks to the drivers instead of non drivers who lack experience and knowledge to handle the parks.

They frowned at the use of agents in management of the parks as it would not argue well even as the National Deputy President of the drivers Association , Mr Emmanuel Ukatu pleaded with the government to allow professionals manage the parks to avoid introducing touting in the motor parks and other criminal elements whose interests are on the money made and nothing else  but not without commending Governor Obiano for his strides in fighting crime so far .