Luxury bus transporters retain N100,000 fines, ban on seat attachment

…give Nonso Ubajaka’s executives a fresh 2yrs mandate

Following the security risk involved in picking up extra passengers on the roadside, members of the Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON), have voted to retain the ban and the fine of N100,000 against the admission of extra passengers beyond the number of seats provided for.

The ban on attachment seats was upheld at the 9th biennial meeting held in Lagos recently before the executive committee led by Nonso Ubajaka was dissolved and returned unopposed.

While some members claimed that carrying extra passengers, sometimes without the knowledge of the management of transport firms is an invitation to criminality apart from impairing return on investment, other smaller operators favoured it.

For instance, the representative of Young Shall Grow Motors said that attachment seats are prohibited by its management, and offenders are mandated to pay a penalty of N200,000.

Similarly, ALBON members gave the current executive council led by Nonso Ubajaka a fresh two-year mandate following their sterling performance.

The team was endorsed during an electoral process presided over by Dan Okemuo, chairman of Dan Dollars Motors, who reached a consensus that voting was not necessary on the basis that the executive committee members deserved another two years based on their performance.

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Okemuo, who commended the performance of the current executives, said he had been monitoring their performance.

He said some critical issues had been raised at the meeting that would need quality leadership exhibited by the Ubajaka executive team to deal with.

He also appealed to the luxury bus owners to continue supporting the executive members to enable them to tackle the tasks ahead.

Similarly, Boniface Nwachukwu of Bonny Way Motors Ltd, and Sebastine Udemba of Chimezie Motors, lauded the national executive members for living up to expectations.

Three Board of Trustees members present at the meeting include Godfrey Obi, chairman of Gobison Motors; Udemba, and Okemuo, were members of the electoral panel.

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The Ubajaka executive team who returned unopposed include Samuel Ezeh, first vice president; Obiora Egwim, second vice president; Frank Nneji, honorary secretary; Chijoke Ojukwu, treasurer; and Peter Obi, financial secretary.

In his acceptance remarks, Nonso Ubajaka, thanked members for finding his team worthy of a renewed mandate, promising that they would continue to protect the interest of the association.

He pledged that the team will position the organisation to favourably compete with their counterparts.