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| Pastor Ekpenyong Ene Cobhams, Cross River State Commissioner for Transportation |
The Cross River State Government has said it is poised to ensure that sanity is restored in the transport sector as it is ready to combat all forms of illegalities in the sector.
The Commissioner of Transportation, Cross River State, Pastor Ekpenyong Ene Cobham, revealed this in Calabar while reacting to the recent protest by a section of minibus drivers in Calabar.
Cobhams said, there’s no going back on it’s stands to restore sanity in the transportation sector, this he said will come with different reforms that will lead to road users shifting from their current ways to adopting new measures that will be unveiled soonest.
A section of mini-bus drivers had on Thursday protested in some major streets of Calabar along the highway over what they described as high/multiple taxation, multiple taxforce and humongous charges to bail impounded vehicles.
The Commissioner, who believed the protest was sponsored by political elements who are not comfortable with the ongoing reforms in sector informed that the ministry was working assiduously to address the issues of illegal roadside loading, touting, multiple ticketing and illegal taskforce that exploit motorists within and outside Calabar.
“We need to restore sanity to the roads and the culture of impunity we have to put it away. And you know that’s not an easy feat.
When you are trying to bring change, impunity must fight back, and that’s what happened on Thursday,” said the Commissioner.
He said on assumption of office, he met a transport sector that was bedeviled with impunity, corruption, and illegalities to the detriment of the state and financial benefits of cartel of cultist and politically exposed persons, adding tha the Ministry is purposeful driven and committed to bringing to bare the Governor Otu’s “People First Agenda” in the transportation sector.
Cobhams noted that the proposed reforms did not sit well with people who are profiting from the illegalities and have attempted buying him over with gifts and promises which he turned down, hence have decided to fight back by sponsoring the protest in order to embarrass government and give him a bad name.
“| have interface with the state security adviser. We are trying to work out ways to begin to arrest them. These people have caused so much damage, giving government a bad name”
In a telephone interview with our correspondent, Pastor Thomas Effiong, State Chairman of Cross River Unified Commercial Drivers Association, he said the protest wasn’t led by him and there’s every reason to believe the protest was sponsored. He said although the union was considering approaching the commissioner on certain areas affecting the drivers but protest wasn’t part of the plan.
Cobham noted that all the reforms planned by his ministry have been adequately communicated to the leadership of all the sectors in the industry and he has had several interfaces with the various stakeholders.
“In those interfaces, we had with the drivers Associations, I made it clear to them that it can’t be business as usual. We need to partner to be able to reach out to the drivers. l even suggested to them that there’s a need for reorientation. I remember saying that we need to have a meeting with the operators of driving schools because I have discovered that there’s a problem of attitude among the drivers, habitual decadence, alcoholic abuse, drug abuse and all of such vices.” He said.