There was traffic gridlock in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Thursday following blockade of the Owerri/Port Harcourt road and Owerri/Onitsha road by truck drivers protesting what they described as incessant harassment and extortion by operatives of the taskforce on illegal parks in the state.

Operating under the auspices of Trailer Drivers Association, the group lamented that some of their members’ vehicles were impounded by the task force headed by the Special Adviser to the governor on Illegal Parks, Frank Onwumere, and his boys since four months for no justifiable reason.

Speaking to journalists during the protest, one of the leaders of the Trailer Drivers Association, who identified himself as Monday Ossai, who operates from Oneh Seaport, Rivers State, explained that they blocked the two roads within Owerri Municipal to draw the attention of government to the harassment and extortion of their members.

The accused Onwumere of tarnishing the image of the governor who they said meant well for the people of the state.

“Truck drivers are very depressed as Hon. Frank Onwumere and his boys do not allow us to operate freely on the road in Imo State, day and night. Regrettably, the mistreatment that badly affected us was the seizure, impounding of our members’ vehicles by Onwumere and his team for four months, including the demand of N250,000 with clearance paper of road worthiness of our vehicles.

“Onwumere heartlessly told us that we must pay N250,000 before our vehicles are released – that truck drivers in Rivers and Lagos States pay N250,000 and N350,000 respectively” he said.

Ossai said that in order to restore sanity, law and orderliness on the road, they are calling on the governor to immediately sack Onwumere and bring in someone with human face to do the work to avoid tarnishing his image.

The drivers also demanded quick intervention on the badly damaged Port Harcourt Expressway and other deplorable roads in the state to ease traffic.

Also speaking, a truck driver who gave his name as Aliyu Haruna said that they don’t encounter problems in other states, and it is only when they enter Imo roads that problem always starts.

“They said that we should not ply the roads during daytime which we agreed but the problem is at that time we are supposed to make use of the roads there is always a blockade by the military at Obinze once it is 9:00 pm,”
he complained.

Addressing the aggrieved trailer drivers during an on-the-spot assessment, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Barr. Nnamdi Anyaehie, authorized the immediate release of all impounded vehicles, which were subsequently returned to their owners.

The Chief of Staff said government would never authorize any appointee to victimize any citizen, saying some of the spoilt trailers parts would be fixed.

He also assured that the alleged harassment and extortion by Onwumere would be investigated.

Reacting to the allegations levelled against him, Onwumere said his actions and that of his team are fully in line with the directives given to him by Governor Hope Uzodimma.

“My responsibility as the Special Adviser on Illegal Parks is to ensure that our roads are free from illegal obstructions by addressing issues that affect the smooth flow of traffic and safety of road users,” he said.

Onwumere further said that what his team is doing is not peculiar to Imo State.

“For example, would trailer or tanker drivers dare to act with such disregard for traffic regulations in Abuja or Lagos? Certainly not. Yet in Imo State, some people believe they can park their vehicles carelessly and go about their businesses without considering the rules of traffic.”

He accused the truck drivers of being in the habit of flouting traffic orders, stressing that there is a new law in the state prohibiting them from plying Imo roads at day time till 9:00 pm. He regretted that the truck drivers are finding it difficult to obey the law.

The SA observed that those attacking him are those opposed to the achievements recorded by his team, adding that they are trying to discourage him from doing his job as directed by the governor.

“In the course of our work we have consistently encountered menace of armed robbers who specialized in luring innocent citizens into their vehicles and rob them of their valuables. It is through the diligent work of my office that we have been able to save countless Imo citizens,” Onwumere added.