Connect with us

Business

Commuters Decry Taxi Drivers’ Recklessness On Iloabuchi Road

Published

9 years ago

on

Commuters plying
Iloabuchi road in Diobu area of Port Harcourt the Rivers State capital, have  expressed concern over the recklessness of taxi drivers on the road and urged  appropriate authorities to take actions aimed at checking such unsafe attitudes on the road.
A student of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology Nkpolu, Miss Grace Graham said, “the level of recklessness observed daily on the Iloabuchi-RSUST route has become a matter of great concern, especially for those plying that route daily either for their business transaction or to school”.
Graham explained that the taxi drivers who have abandoned the rules and regulations concerning traffic, hardly park out of the road to load or off load their passengers.
Imagine a taxi driver stopping in the middle of the road to carry or drop a passenger and while he does this, every other members of the public using the road had to file behind him, until he was through, instead of parking out for others to pass”, she said.
Also condemning the way and manner taxi drivers use the route, a wood dealer, Mr Maxi Cletus, said, “all my life, I have never seen when taxi drivers display the kind of nuisance as on this Iloabuchi road.
“They stop wherever they like even on the sharp bend to carry or offload passengers. They load in the middle of the road and force other road users to wait until whenever they feel like. I think government should come in to save us for this because it is becoming something else”.
Another commuter, Mr Eleruchi Patrick, equally expressed same disappointment over the attitude of the taxi drivers on the road.
Patrick who teaches in one of the private secondary schools in the area appealed to the traffic police and other agencies of the government responsible for the maintenance of public roads to initiate actions on the issue.
“I don’t know if the road  transport unions still operate in this society because they are expected to monitor their members’ behaviour on the road. The police should please come to our rescue.
“They behave as if all the taxi drivers have agreed to be reckless on the road.  We know  that traffic standard has changed compared to what it was in the 70s, 80s and even 90s but what the taxi drivers do daily on Iloabuchi Road cannot be tolerated by any civilized society. I beg the government to help out”, Patrick pleaded.

 

By Our Correspondent

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Business

Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

Published

4 hours ago

on

September 22, 2025

By

Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

Continue Reading

Business

NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

Published

4 hours ago

on

September 22, 2025

By

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
Continue Reading

Business

FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

Published

4 hours ago

on

September 22, 2025

By

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
Continue Reading

Trending