NURTW Canvasses TIMA-RIV, Stakeholders’ Partnership

The need for Rivers State Road Traffic management Authority (TIMARIV) to energy with all stakeholders in road transport business within Port Harcourt and its environs has been stressed.

The Branch Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Rivers State chapter, Pastor O.D. Kalango made the assertion during a meeting of stakeholders in Port Harcourt, last Friday.

Pastor Kalango said such collaboration would boost mutual understanding and better working relationship, stressing that it is time for TIMARIV to have a human face.

He said the union planned to give the government ultimatum during the recent face-off with tanker drivers but later decided to call it off when they considered that it would affect the common man in the society and expressed concern over the activities of TIMARIV, describing it as militancy with their fines unaccessible, not flexible and autocratic in a democratic administration.

The state branch chairman of the union, who is also the chairman of bus services noted that drivers whose vehicles were impounded are suffering with their families and are not enjoying the dividends of democracy, and also thanked the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) for organizing such meetings which had brought some sanity and orderliness on our road, and further called for collaboration for free flow of traffic.

“Many Commercial drivers are out of business because of the activities of TIMARIV which government should check, if not the people of the State will suffer when we call our members to go on strike and you know there is no government palliative vehicles on the road in the state”, he said, adding that the meeting was timely as all stakeholders are to work as a team to woo investors to Rivers State.

In their separate speeches, the Chairman of National Union of Petroleum and Natural gas Wokers (NUPENG) in the state, Mr. Godwin Eruba and Mr. Clement Oziri of Petroleum tanker Drivers (PTD) of NUPENG called on law enforcement agents not to take the laws into their hands but give respect also to the tanker drivers whose products are highly inflammable and on essential duty, recalling the recent face-off between them and the government, and commended the organizer of the meeting as it is achieving its purpose.

Also speaking, the Zonal Controller Zone 4 of TIMARIV, Isoboye David Alalibo had said that as para-Military, they have to use some Military Officers to protect them as most of their members were being brutalized and hosptialised, and reiterated that they don’t collect money from offenders but issue them tellers for bank payment, adding that extortation of money from offenders is criminal and called on motorists not to generalise all road operators as TIMARIV.

Mr. Alalibo said their greatest problems had been touts and driving against traffic and commended PCRC for the meeting to bridge the gap, assuring that TIMARIV is trying its best and also have human face.

The State Chairman of PCRC, Hon. Austen Young, who was represented  by the Secretary General, Mr. Jeffrey Anugwo said the meeting was to find a solution for a way forward to ease traffic congestion on our road and called for co-operation among all road users, while assuring that the programme would soon be taken over by the State PCRC.

Collins Barasemieye