The operations of the ex-service men transport franchise scheme in Rivers State have been described as a duplicated free trade extortion scheme, formed to deceive the transport public.

It has also been referre to as a false transport franchise scheme that has no locus standing, and does not have a legal ground to operate.

The President of the Rivers Transport and Investment Cooperative Union Limited (RTICUL), Mr. Tubonimi Wokoma, who made this assertion while speaking to The Tide business in Port Harcourt, said that the ex-service transport scheme operators have no reason by law to operate such scheme.

According to the cooperative transport president, “who are the ex-service men, and what is the difference between the ex-service and the Legion? Are the operators of the scheme members of retired service men of the Nigerian armed forces?

He queried, “which official government gazzettee recognises the so called ex-service men? I know that recognition cannot be given to both “Nigerian Legion” and ex-service men at the same time to represent the group of retired armed forces men”.

Mr. Wokoma went further to allege that the operators of the scheme are people who do not have respect of the rule of law, but would always device means of extorting from the transport public.

As a transporter, he said, he will not fold hands to see some group of people using illegality to extort from the public.

He pointed out that there will not be problem if Nigerian legion, which is a known group, organizes to assist themselves by pulling their resources together to form transport scheme, but that the bad aspect is that people who are not retired service men hijack and hide under any name to extort from the public.

On his part, the General Manager of the NLC Corporate Franchise scheme, Messiah Musan, has posited that the ex-service scheme is a mere imposition by a group of impostors that have interest in the extortion of transporters.

Mr. Musan alleged that the existence of the ex-service men transport scheme is a complete fraud in the transport system, adding that, it is so disappointing these days that some group of people can just wake up one day and bear any name in the process of running a Franchise transport, just to make money, and on the other hand causing confusion and duplication of efforts.

However, when The Tide visited the office of ex-service scheme at Ikwerre road, Port Harcourt, one  clerk said that the ex-service scheme has replaced the Legion Mass transit scheme, and that legion is dead.

But when The Tide called on the office of Legion to ascertain the true position, it was gathered that the Legion Mass Transit, still remains the body organising the Nigerian legion mass transit.

The Cordinator of Rivers State Legion Mass transit, Mr. Prince Chinedu said that he got such information, but that the operators of ex-service scheme broke away from the legion, and that every claim they make is false, since they do not have backing of the law for existence.

Corlins Walter