Lokoja, the Kogi State capital over time had continued to witness chaotic traffic situation owing to indiscriminate parking of vehicles and activities of roadside motor park operators.
Most of the commercial drivers operating in the state prefer to carry out their activities by the roadsides rather than using government approved motor park.
Areas such as the popular NATACO Junction and Ganaja Junction axis are the most notorious for roadside loading and offloading of vehicles by commercial drivers.
Apart from those operating by the roadsides, the other smaller parks where the commercial drivers operate from lack the needed facilities and their surroundings are, most times, in deplorable condition.
The situation has remained so even as the Ultra Modern Lokoja Mega Terminal built at Felele area along the busy Abuja-Okene highway to ease transportation is yet to be put to use almost three years after it was commissioned by the former governor, Capt. Idris Wada.
North Central Trust reports that transport and other commercial activities are yet to commence at the mega terminal even as chaotic traffic situation persists in the state capital due to activities of roadside transport operators.
Former Kogi Governor Idris Wada, had on January 20, 2016 inaugurated the Lokoja Mega Terminal built at the cost of N1.6 billion in his quest to bring sanity to the transport sector in the state.
Wada while performing the ceremony in Lokoja, said the mega terminal would boost revenue generations for government and create employment in addition to ensuring sanity in the state’s transport system.
“The existing motor parks in Lokoja lack basic transport facilities to adequately cater for the needs of commuters and have outgrown their present locations and thus transport activities spill onto the major roads”, the former governor said.
He said the terminal, which has capacity for 10,000 passengers and over 500 buses per day, would go a long way in ensuring efficiency in the state’s intercity/inter states transports services.
According to him, the terminal would assist in addressing the challenges of insecurity bedeviling the country, adding that the park has been properly secured and equipped with security devices to track bad elements.
But some concerned transporters and motorists, who expressed displeasure over continued dormancy of the mega terminal, called on Governor Yahaya Bello to ensure the park is put to use.
According to them, putting the mega terminal into use would bring orderliness to the transportation system, boost commercial activities and revenue for the state.
In November 2017, the Kogi State Government ordered for the relocation of all interstate motor parks and transport operators operating within Lokoja, the state capital to the Mega Terminal located in Felele.
The decision was reached by the State Executive Council at an extra-ordinary meeting it held at the Government House, Lokoja.
According to the approval notice, interested food vendors and restaurant operators along the popular Felele/Nataco axis were advised to move their businesses to the Mega Terminal as no vehicle passing through Lokoja to other parts of the country would be allowed to stop over anywhere in the city other than the terminal.
It further advised commuters and travellers to make use of the terminal, which it said has all the required facilities to ensure a good travel experience.
The council stressed that with the consolidation of all parks at the Lokoja Mega Terminal, commuters would be able to carry out their activities in a safe and secure environment, and having the full complement of associated commercial activities including eateries, banking, posts and others.
The then Commissioner for Transportation, Salisu Sani Ogu said the measure was meant to make transportation easy for the people.
But no sooner had the government announced the relocation to the mega terminal than some of the commercial transporters took to the streets to protest against the decision.
The commercial drivers stormed the headquarters of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Kogi State Council in protest over the state government’s move to relocate the Ibro and other motor parks in the town to the Lokoja Mega Park in Felele.
The placard carrying protesters with various inscriptions marched to the NURTW headquarters to express their displeasure over the relocation of their parks from the town to Felele.
Secretary of the Ibro Park, located opposite the Kogi International Market, Lokoja, Comrade Muhammed Hassan, said: “Why we are against the relocation of parks from the Lokoja township to Felele is because of the busy nature of the expressway.
“The road is accident prone because of Trucks plying it on daily basis. If we relocate to that killer road, our lives and that of our passengers are in danger.
“We are appealing to the state government to allow us remain where we are.”
“If the essence of government is to protect and initiate policies that are in the best interest of the people, then government should not use its machinery to oppress the people it is governing,” Hassan said.
Chairman of the Onitsha park, Comrade Emmanuel David, who also spoke during the protest, said “shutting down and relocating the parks in the town will endanger the lives of old women and children as a result of the long distance to the ultra-modern park.
“Again, when you go round all the parks in the country, government commercial vehicles don’t operate the same place with private commercial vehicles.
“We are here to appeal to the state government to have a rethink on its plan.”
But when contacted, Alhaji Muhammed Jibril Selula, Kogi State Chairman of NURTW, said; “I was surprised when I heard that some drivers are protesting against the relocation of some parks in the town to Felele.
“Last year when the state government told us about its plan to relocate some parks to Felele, we all subscribed to the plan. And my office briefed all the branches accordingly.
“We even nominated 10 of our members to join the government’s task force in that respect.
“I wish to tell the general public that the protesting drivers are on their own. After all, we all cannot agree and now a few others are protesting. Protesting for what?” Selula asked angrily.
When contacted, Kogi State Commissioner for Transport, Mohammed Awwal said operations have officially commenced at the park but that the commercial drivers appeared not willing to move.
“We have commenced operation in the mega park located at Felele in the state capital some few months ago where we moved all smaller parks in Lokoja to the mega park.
Our operation only lasted for two weeks because when the task force was relaxed and in the usual characteristics of the commercial drivers, they decided on their own to go back to their local parks with a complain that passengers are not patronising them at the mega park.
“Recently, the governor met with all the stakeholders involved and instructed that all parks in Lokoja should moved to the mega park, but the challenges we are facing now is how we can established 100 percent task force that will ensure that commercial vehicles do not carry passengers any where other than the mega park located at Felele area in Lokoja.
“We are also planning to make the mega park operational before the end of December, 2018 and any vehicle or vehicles that violate our order will be sanctioned appropriately through heavy fine.
“Also as part of measure to ensure that our plan see the light of the day, we are bent on sealing all other smaller parks in Lokoja and we as well have design a master plan on how to monitor the operation of taxi(s) in the state capital.
“I am using this medium to call on the commercial motorists and travellers to cooperate with us so that we can decongest traffic in the state capital and to also make the optimal usage of the multi million naira ultramodern motor park”, he said.
Credits: Itodo Daniel Sule | Daily Trust
