Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha

Anambra Commissioner of Transportation, Dr. Christian Madubuko, has warned against touting, extortion and street trading.

Madubuko warned that those caught extorting money from lorry drivers/motorists and trading on the road will be tried in mobile courts established in the state.

Madubuko stated this, yesterday, in Onitsha during the flag-off of Focus Initiative Against Touting (FIAT), a project conceived to rid  the state of touts.

He said touts and those engaged in illegitimate activities had brought a lots of embarrassment to his office and the state. Government.

“It is very unfortunate that when people are coming from Delta State, or all the way from Edo and Lagos into Anambra, you see some individuals with sticks extorting money from these motorists; that is what we are saying no to. It is an embarrassment to the  Ministry  of Transport, and the state government.

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“We will no longer condone it. I warn all the people involved in it to get ready because we will stop at nothing to make sure  we stop such activities. I also understand that those people do shifting, day and night, and their activities are mostly in the night.  We are here day and night. We are ready for them. You can see soldiers, Police, DSS, Navy, and Civil Defence.  It will be a fight,  we are ready for the fight.  We will fight tooth and nail  for the survival of the state. Either we stamp-out touts in this state, or touts stamp us out,” he said.

The commissioner said there was no fine of N35,000 imposed on wrong parking of vehicles and urged park managers and owners to come to the ministry to  register and obtain the right permit to operate.

“It is only the state government that has power to issue authority paper. If you issue authority paper to touts, it means you give him legitimacy to operate, they don’t have the mandate from the government.

“The mobile court is there, if you are caught, we march you to the mobile court. We will try you, if you are guilty, you will be sent to jail where you will serve the stipulated years,” Madubuko said.

He also ordered women engaged in  street trading to vacate the main roads and relocate inside the markets. According to him,  in 2005 the state had enacted a law prohibiting street trading. The commissioner also said loading and off-loading of goods on the streets had also been banned.

Co-ordinator of FIAT, Mr. Ohanazoeze Okwudili pledged to  discharge his duties effectively to compliment the efforts of government in sanitising the state.