December 31, (THEWILL) – As a result of the directive issued by the Bayelsa State Ministry of Transport that all motor parks operating within Yenagoa and its environs relocate to the newly built transport terminal at Igbogene in Yenagoa, commuters travelling from Bayelsa State to other parts of the country are lamenting the ordeal they are passing through before getting to their respective destinations, particularly during this festive season.
According to different commuters who spoke to newsmen at various motor parks within Yenagoa and its metropolis, they expressed their dismay and outright annoyance over the insensitivity on the part of the state Ministry of Transport on their plight, stressing that the state government would have called all the gazetted transport unions across the state for a round table discussion on the matter before embarking on the forceful relocation of the motor parks to Igbogene.
Douye Wikimor, one of the commuters noted that the enforcement of the directive by stern-looking security operatives at the motor park at the popular Tombia roundabout in the heart of Yenagoa is a misplaced priority and a complete miscalculation on the part of the state Ministry of Transport, adding that other commuters like himself will have to pay double transportation fare before arriving at their destinations.
Urging the state government and other relevant stakeholders in the transportation sector to re-think and consider the stress and pains the gazetted transport unions and commuters will bear as a result of the sudden and forceful relocation.
The President of the Federal University, Otuoke Students Union, Comrade Azubike Ekene, said the relocation will cause a lot of inconvenience and pain to the students of not only the university but also Niger Delta University, Amassoma.
According to the Student Union President, the policy is not bad, especially when viewed against the backdrop of sanitising and decongesting the motor parks within Yenagoa and its environs but the execution of the policy is ill-timed as the planners did not take into consideration the plight of students in the state, stressing that the students union body will embark on a peaceful protest if the relocation policy is not reconsidered.
In the same vein, another commuter, Tekena Kio, equally condemned the relocation and centralisation policy by the state government, emphasizing that the policy will negatively affect the gazetted transport unions in the state, commuters and small and medium-scale businesses operating within and around the various motor parks.
He noted that the policy will also create room for crime and criminality as the employees of the gazetted unions will be thrown back into the labour market and the motor parks will turn to hideouts for criminals thereby leading to insecurity in the state, stressing that it will also affect the Internally Generated Revenue accruable to the state from the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
In his words ” I am a commuter going to Delta state and I used to travel with Agofure buses but I am surprised that I came to their park this morning to see that the park is under lock and key. In this 21st century, the government locked up a private park and businesses and forced them to relocate to their own park which is uncalled for. By our constitution, everybody is allowed to go about their respective businesses without harassment from any quarter. Other Bayelsans are in other states doing their legitimate businesses. Agofure built this property and did his legitimate business. I appeal to President Bola Tinubu to wade into the matter and solve the difficulty commuters and private park owners are going through in Bayelsa State.”
Another commuter, who appeared angry about the action of the state government, also reiterated the need for the Ministry of Transport to re-think the situation as commuters are passing through a lot of pain and agony because they have to go to the Transport Terminal at Igbogene before proceeding on their journey.
The secretary of RTEAN, Comrade Anengima Jonah, equally bemoaned the policy as the terminal is not built for transport unions vehicles but for executive and government-owned transportation schemes, noting that the policy will kill private businesses around the various motor parks.
He stressed that the gazetted transport unions have succeeded in mopping out large numbers of unemployed youths across the state, urging the state government to have a solid discussion with the union members before going further with the enforcement order as that is the surest way to resolve the lingering issue.
THEWILL reports that security agents have taken over control of the premises of all the motor parks in a bid to enforce the relocation by the state ministry of Transport as stranded passengers were milling around on their next line of action either to commence their journey or move to the terminal that has been provided by the state government.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
