Relocation : No plans to hijack transport unions’ jobs, revenue – Abia Govt 

Abia State Government says it has no plan to hijack the jobs and revenues of transport unions in the state following the relocation of commercial buses to the Nnenna Otti Central Bus Terminal.

This is in response to the anxiety among some transport operators that the enforcement of operations at the central bus terminal could transfer their daily jobs and revenues to the Abia State Government.

But addressing the press on Tuesday on the outcome of the Abia State Executive Council meeting, the state’s Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, said that the jobs and revenues of transport operators and their unions have not been taken over by the state government, as being speculated.

Kanu, who said that the majority of transport unions in the state are in support of the ongoing relocation to the new bus terminal, explained that the fears raised by some of the transporters in about 29 motor parks in Umuahia are currently being addressed.

“We are meeting the transport operators and a few of their anxieties will be addressed soon,” the commissioner said.

Also speaking, Abia State Commissioner for Transport, Chimezie Ukaegbu, dismissed the claims that the state government was taking over the jobs of transport unions and their members, saying that an organised system of transportation was introduced to replace touting and congestion.

Speaking on security, the Special Adviser to Governor Alex Otti on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, disclosed that Abia State is experiencing an influx of unregulated tricycle operators from neighbouring states.

Ekeoma, who said that the influx of the tricycle operators could pose a security threat to the state, noted that the state government was tightening its security architecture to ensure that their operations are closely monitored.