The Anambra State Drivers Welfare Association, (DWA) has decried the illegal multiplicity of taxes on the members stifling their operations in the state.
Anthony Ogbu (a.k.a. Igwe for Boys), first president, former chairman and secretary of the union made the observation during the election of its
new leadership in Onitsha, Anambra state on Wednesday.
He condemned the multiple taxations imposed on drivers, “from Owerri to Onitsha are eleven tickets daily, from Owerri municipal to Awommamma, we pay for tickets at Mgbidi, Orlu west, Ihiala, LGA, Ozubulu etc.
“When the drivers enter Oba in Idemili South LGA, they will pay, if they pass Oba, they will pay, if they enter spare parts (Mgbuka Obosi), they Will pay to Idemmili North.
“When the drivers climb the flyover, he will pay for Onitsha North, if he goes to Main Market, he will pay for Onitsha South, if he goes to Upper Iweka, he will pay for Ogbaru.
“We plead to the state government to lessen our burden on various tickets such as local government, loading and offloading, park management, road maintenance, as payments are too much.
“The government should help and tell us the one to pay and the ones not to pay in a bid to prevent paying to wrong hands”
“We will partner with road safety and security operatives in order to create revenues to build roads, the government should also look into different parks illegal levies.
“The state ministry of transport should construct the roads, there are various tickets which the drivers pay, they extort money from us and when we go to government house to report, they will say those extorting us are fake agents,” Ogbu said.
He called for unified government ticket rates to avoid the extortions and urged the government to intervene, saying that the association employs about 40 per cent of the youths.
Also reacting, a stakeholder, Comrade Peter Okala, said that, “we enter vehicles so that there will be welfare, thus criminalities should be under control”.
He recalled that “we went to press conference with the former commissioner of police, we thanked him for his help. My involvement is for the welfare of the members.
Okala extolled the new chairman, Chief Adindu Opara, “he is a person that has the interest of the people at heart, he wants to make a sacrifice and not to run away with the property of the people”.
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“I don’t associate with illegal people, self-determination is the right of everyone in the country. No one should kill each other if we have a leader like Opara that acknowledges everyone as a human being”.
He urged the leadership of the association to engage the ministry of transport and government with a view to curtailing the money the drivers pay, adding that it is too much.
In his post-election speech, the new chairman said, “I have been in the line for 15 to16 years. I have stayed while people ruled zone by zone, Anambra, Imo and Abia for eight years. I promise the members to get a plot of land and build the Secretariat”
Opara vowed to sustain the cordial relationship between the drivers and the police, even as he commended the police for their protection during the election to ensure a free, fair and credible election.
He urged two other defeated candidates, Chika Azunnanya and Obinna Nworah, to join him in moving the association forward, pointing out that he would remain loyal as an obedient servant.
Speaking, the immediate past chairman, chief Obina Anisiobi, said, “the election was free, fair and credible”
“The new leadership led by Ogbu will also be re-elected for another four years after the first tenure if he performed, and I urged that all hands be on deck for the unity of the association,” he said.
The returning officer, Mr Ogbonna Chukwudi, the returning officer of the election, expressed satisfaction with the smooth conduct of the election.
He commended the drivers for the maturity displayed during the election.
Others elected officers are, Nwabueze Nwaneke (Vice Chairman, Awuke Bright (Secretary), Anyadibe Kenneth (Financial Secretary), Chigozie Okolo (PRO) and Chima Anthony Chinagorom (Provost).
