BY JUDE OSSAI / ENUGU
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Staff of the Enugu State Transport Management Authority (ESTMA), Wednesday held a road show as part of their activities to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the Authourity, an arm of the State Ministry of Transport.
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The jubilant workers drove round some major roads in Enugu metropolis, chatting solidarity songs in support of the state governor, Peter Mbah.
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Addressing newsmen after the road show, Commander of ESTMA, Kenneth Ugwu commended Governor Mbah for his continued support to the Authority, adding that he is a God sent.
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Ugwu said, “Mbah is the best governor among all the governors in Nigeria because of the democracy dividends he has been giving to the state especially the building of transport terminals, Enugu Air and the Smart Schools.”
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His words:
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“Today is the anniversary of MOT, Ministry of Transport. Today being nine years, we thank God for the life, we thank God for health and we pray that God will continue to protect us and to guide us.
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“We use the opportunity to greet Gov. Peter Mbah in a special way for the support. His Excellency has supported the Ministry in so many ways. You can see these towing vans. He has equipped the Ministry of Transport very well, spiritually and physically. The first governor that has procured a cargo plane that flies from China to Enugu, the first in history. For now, he is the best governor so far in the history of Nigeria,” he commended.
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“We commend the governor and the Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Obi Ozor for their assistance to the Ministry and the Authority.
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The ESTMA boss, however, appealed to the governor to give them operational vehicles. “We pray that his Excellency will look at that side to help us with operational vehicles. People are complaining that we are using mini buses but we don’t have any other option than to use what we have,” he said.
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According to him, apart from the challenge of operational vehicles, “We are faced with another challenge of people interfering with their operation.
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“The challenge we have is that when we are doing our job, bystanders and passersby mock us and at times harass my people.
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Commander Ugwu also cited the unnecessary interference of content creators, saying, “If a vehicle beats traffic, if my men apprehend the vehicle, many people will like to put it on the social media.”
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“Passersby often attack my men in course of doing our job. The problem we are having in this state is that passersby, so many people are using our Ministry for content creation. Any small thing, they will video and post. Our people will not ask questions but start acting.”
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On alleged infiltration of fake officials in ESTMA, Commander Ugwu said it has been checked, stressing that it is a story of the past.
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“We have stopped fake traffic officers who masquerade as our men. People are wearing polo, wearing apron, collecting money from motorists. Their activities give us bad name but the problem has been handled with the help of Ttansport Commissioner”, he added.
