By Ariwera Ibibo-Howells Beyelsa
The chairman, Bayelsa State branch of the National Union or road transport workers (NURTW), Comrade ThankGod Erebo has called on the Bayelsa State Government to consult with the union before appointing commissioner for transport.
Mr. Erebo who doubles as the treasurer, South-South Zone of the NURTW started this in Yenagoa Wednesday during an interview with journalists.
The transporters union boss while reiterating his commitment towards ensuring a progressive union argued that the bane of the transport subsector of the Bayelsa economy is the unilateral appointment of people lacking the requisite expertise and experience as transport commissioners by successive administrations in the state in particular and the nation as a whole.
According to the NURTW helmsman, the union which was founded in 1978 clocked 40yrs this year, emphasizing that the role of transporters in the nation is indispensable.
The Ogbia-born transporter said under his leadership not fewer than twenty five branches of the NURTW now exist in the state. He maintained that a total of twelve units have also been created, making the NURTW the most populated transport union in the state.
Meanwhile, against the backdrop of insinuations that tricycles, popularly called keke would soon be banned from operating in the state, the NURTW says Bayelsans have come to prefer them to boarding cars, stressing that some of the tricycles drivers are registered members of the NURTW, stressing that Bayelsans believe that the keke plying the roads in Yenagoa take them faster to their destinations.
Speaking against collection of incessant levies by the Bayelsa State Environmental Sanitation Authority from transporters in the state, Erebo called on the Government to prevail on the authority to desist forthwith, saying such unwarranted levies and dues are completely illegal, emphasizing that the only levy permitted to pay by transporters is the state is the unified ticket for transport operators.