By Okechukwu Onuegbu
Sienna bus owners and drivers operating with the franchise of Transport Company of Anambra State (TRACAS), Friday, protested against alleged extortion and other corrupt practices allegedly rocking the government owned agency.
The protesters numbering about 1800, who took to some streets of Awka, the State capital, including the government house, to register their grievances, alleged that officers of the agency were intimidating them with the law enforcement agents and insisting on collecting ₦45,000 to install non-existence tracking device into their vehicles.
They came with placards of different inscriptions, some of which read, too many corruption in Tacas, Solution has come to Anambra but not yet in Tracas, why?, Aguata drivers has gone out of Tracas because of Ben Okoye, From zero to N16 million, MD must go, Solution is not yet in Tracas, We need change in Tracas, Our governor, we want you to reshuffle The Tracas management.
They also alleged that they remit over N61 billions to the company every year yet the management neither have a park in any part of the country nor cared to manage the only they have in Anambra State.
Addressing the protesters, the Vice President of High way TRACAS Drivers, Mr. Okwudiri Felix Okonkwo, explained that the protest was aimed at informing governor Chukwuma Soludo the ill treatment and corrupt practices being rocking the management of TRACAS.
According to him, every driver plying Lagos and Abuja highways pays N15,000 per loading and if they made over 10 trips to Lagos and Abuja, and "If you make a five trips to and from a month ,you are to pay N300,000 every month.
"Calculate N300,0000 into 1700 vehicles N5,000,000,100 and tax it by 12 months it is N61,000,000,000. This does include the local vehicles. We don’t know why the management want to stifle us with multiple levies. We are doing the protest to get the attention of the governor to the bad treatment being mated to us management of TRACAS despite our contribution to Company” he said.
"They stop us on highway and collect N85,000 for the trackers and renewal permit as a fine. We are crying to the governor to intervene and save us from TRACAS intimation, harrassment and extortion. We are in support of the governor but the management of TRACAS is sabotaging our efforts," he lamented.
"We accepted to have trackers in our vehicles but they must pay for the fixing and give us a written agreement that if anything happens to our motors they will pay ,but they refuse. At a stage Chairman ,Anambra State House committee on transport intervened and just after three days ,they asked for enforcement.
"They stop us on highway and collect N85,000 for the trackers and renewal permit as a fine. We are crying to the governor to intervene and save us from TRACAS intimation,harrassment and extortion. We are in support of the governor but the management of TRACAS is sabotaging our efforts’ he lamented."
Also speaking, the Secretary to TRACAS Drivers, Mr Benjamin Ogbonnaya, said that management is not treating them fairly as partner in the business and appealed to Soludo to come for their rescue.
“The current management of TRACAS is not doing well. In 2019 they forced us to pay N29,000 for speed limit till today they have not install any and they want to force us again to pay N45,000. We are not against the tracking devices but they must pay for them and signed agreement that anything that happen to our vehicles in highway, they must take the full responsibilities” he said.
But governor Chukwuma Soludo, who addressed the protesters, through the Secretary to the State government, Professor Solo Chukwululobe commended them for the peaceful conduct and promised to relay their complaints to the governor.
Soludo, who assured that there would be a positive response from the government within a week, pledged to speak with the management of TRACAS and other relevant agencies to obtain their views and ensure they step down the enforcement pending the resolution of the crisis.
However, when contacted, the Managing Director of TRACAS, Mr Chike Obiakor said the drivers have the choice to obey the policy of the company or leave,though, he is not asking them to leave.
According to him, the drivers normal load their vehicles privately without coming to TRACAS parks to pay their loading fee and "We are trying to install trackers to monitor their movement because they are not paying their loading fees in out parks. We have even stationed some people on highway to check if they pay at parks and we are paying heavily for that their actions."