Illegal Parks: Taxi Drivers Accuse Task Force Of Extortion

Taxi drivers plying Rumuokwuta-Choba route in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, have raised alarm over what they described as illegal extortion by officials of the Task Force on Street Trading and Illegal Motor Parks.
The taxi drivers alleged that the officials of the taskforce assigned to Rumuokwuta/Choba route have deviated from their primary official assignment of ensuring sanity on the road and were now engaging in illegal extortion of money from drivers.
Speaking to The Tide, a taxi driver plying Rumuokwuta/Choba route, Mr. Jide Akande, narrated his ordeal in the hands of a task force official who allegedly jumped into his taxi cab demanding for N1,500 as gratification just to allow him load his passengers anywhere.
He also alleged that the official threatened to arrest him if he refused to comply.
Narrating his own experience, another taxi driver on the same route, Mr. Onwuka Ibe, told The Tide that though the task force was needed to sanitise the roads, he regretted that the bad-eggs among them were trying to sabotage the efforts of the government.
He said that some officials of the taskforce, were in the habit of extorting drivers who paid as much as N3,000 in a day for them to load and offload.
Ibe stated that it was a major challenge facing the drivers, which the task force should address.
He commended the state governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, for the initiative, noting that the exercise had improved the flow of traffic in almost all the routes in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
He advised the task force to operate with human face, while also engaging in regular dialogue and consultations with stakeholders to resolve issues.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the task force Hon. Bright Amaehule, had condemned the action of some of his members and warned that anyone caught in shady deals would be dealt with.
It would be recalled that Amaewhule suspended three members of the task force at Rumuokoro axis, last Wednesday.