ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Cross River Government has prohibited the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) from carrying out road operations across the state.
The governor made the announcement in Calabar on Saturday, limiting the duties of the VIO strictly to office-based functions.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Linus Obogo, the decision followed protests by commercial bus drivers and tricycle operators over high ticket charges, excessive penalties and alleged harassment by enforcement teams.
The governor explained that the measures, alongside other decisions in the transport sector, were approved after consultations with key stakeholders in the industry.
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According to the statement, the daily ticket fee has been reduced from N850 to N500, while the penalty for not purchasing the ticket has also been lowered to N10,000.
“All traffic-related fines be slashed by 50 per cent and must be paid only into designated Cross River Government accounts.
“Daily ticket for tricycle riders have been reduced from N1,200 to N500, however, every activity of commercial tricycle operators ends at 6 p.m. daily, night operations are permanently banned,” Otu asserted.
He noted that the review was intended to ease the burden on drivers and restore order to the state’s transport system.
The governor added that the Commercial Transport Regulatory Agency (CTRA) would now concentrate on vehicle registration and the sale of tickets at approved rates.
He also stressed that enforcement officers must operate only while properly uniformed and with verifiable identification.
He further directed the Traffic Management and Regulatory Agency (TRAMRA) to confine its activities to statutory traffic management responsibilities.
Additionally, the governor announced that “commercial bus drivers and tricycle riders will no longer purchase tickets on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.”
“These directives will take effect from March 9, and I urge all residents and transport operators to cooperate with relevant authorities.”
However, some commercial drivers who spoke in an interview said the statement did not address certain activities of TRAMRA, such as the alleged illegal “no parking order” applied to drivers who only stop briefly to pick up and drop off passengers.
Johnson Ade, a commercial driver, said there should be an official document outlining the traffic offences in the state and the corresponding fines.
He explained that cutting the fines by 50 per cent was unclear, adding that the exact amounts payable for each offence should be clearly specified to prevent impostors posing as government traffic officials from exploiting the directive.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunday Dennis, Metropolitan Chairman of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), said the association would immediately convene a meeting to carefully review the governor’s statement.
It would be recalled that a series of protests by commercial bus drivers and tricycle operators had earlier prompted the government to suspend all forms of transport ticketing in the state. (NAN)