From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Articulated vehicle drivers who for nine days blocked the Aba, Abia State axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway in protest against the dilapidation of the highway and alleged extortion by soldiers and touts inside the city of Aba, have called off their protest.
During the protest, the truck drivers turned the expressway into their homes, as they hired canopies and mounted on the highway.
This is equally as they hired music instruments which supplied them music, and equally cooked their meals on the highway throughout the period of the protest.
On Wednesday, the protest was said to have turned violent when the truck drivers marched to Osisioma Junction, chased away commuters on that axis and blocked the route, thereby preventing vehicles coming from the Northern part of the country and other parts of the Eastern states from entering Aba.
The truck drivers were equally said to have broke into a Yard at Osisioma, where some of their trucks were detained and released them.
It was gathered that the gridlock caused by the action of the protesting drivers, stretched from Flyover (Alaoji, Aba), to Obehie, a distance of over 25 kilometres; and also stretched further beyond Osisioma, towards the Enugu end of the Expressway.
The protesters vowed not to vacate the road until they were addressed by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
However, following extensive report by the Sun Newspapers and public outcry, Abia State Commissioner of Police,
Mustafa Mohammed Bala visited the protesting truck drivers for a truce on Friday.
Speaking during the visit, spokesman for the drivers, Richard Chinadu noted that the peaceful protest had been on for nine days.
He said bad roads in the State and its environs are causing damages to their trucks, goods and death of members.
He told the visiting CP that they were formerly paying the daily ticketing, which was one of their grievances, through a platform window generated for them by the state government and that they pay their revenue through their union, but that currently, the state government introduced online ticketing which is affecting them.
The drivers said they cannot round one trip in three or four days thereby leading to another ticket being requested by the task force team, failure to comply leads to impoundment of their trucks.
On the issue of intimidation by soldiers and other security agents, Chinadu said there are about 20 checkpoints from Imo gate – Osisioma, with security personnel in each checkpoints collecting N2,000 from them, with the attendant delay which prevents them from meeting up with the time given by the state government for trucks to enter Aba, which is between 9pm – 6am.
”Recently, one of our men is at the hospital because of gun shot wounds and we believe that the state is not aware of this, we are asking if there is curfew in Aba and its environs? “
The drivers pleaded with the State and Federal governments to come to their rescue.
The truck drivers specifically appealed to Abia State Government to allow them use the former window generated by the Ministry of Transportation to pay their revenue.
CP Bala, during the interface, assured the drivers he would convey their plight to the appropriate quarters.
While pleading with them to end the protest, he promised to reach out to other security agencies to ensure that they look into their plights.
He requested their maximum cooperation to ensure law and order was maintained in the state.
Investigations revealed that the protesting articulated drivers took their trucks away from the expressway, but promised to come back if their demands were not met.