Vulcanisers’ Strike Takes Toll On PH Motorists

Some motorists in the Aggrey road Axis of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Captial, have cried out against the hike in the cost of vulcanizing tyres due to an ongoing strike by vulcanisers in the Rivers State capital.
The motorists companied that inflating a tyre, which used to be N100.00 has now gone up to between N250.00 and N400.00 .
One of the motorists, Mr Goodluck Abam, a commercial driver states,”we have problem finding vulcanisers to do our tyres for us for the past one week and the ones we see around are very expensive”.
Abam lamented that vulcanizing a punched tyre has also become very costly and that commercial drivers could not afford such hikes in prices in this time of recession.
Another motorist and civil servant, who would rather not have his name in print, condemned the action of government in vacating vulcanisers from the roadsides,  saying, “Vulcanisers are not meant to be located in hidden places, but at strategic locations where they could easily be spotted”.
One motorist, Mrs Angela Miebaka, also lamented the hike in prices, but wondered why vulcanisers around the Aggrey Road axis were protesting “when  they were not the ones that were chased from the roads. The task force didn’t come to this area so what’s their problem?
It would be recalled that the Rivers State Government recently initiated the “operation leave the road| exercise, against street traders, vulcanisers, road side mechanics, artisans, street vendors and other persons who according to the state, constitute nuisance on the roads.

Tonye Nria-Dappa