‘Give Us Quality Commissioner For Transport’, NURTW Chairman Urges Wike

A call has gone to the Rivers State governor, Chief Ezenwo Wike to appoint a quality commissioner for Transport to man the Ministry of Transport in the state.
The chairman of the Rivers State branch of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Chief Eleazar Monday, made the call in an interview with National Point in his office in Port Harcourt.
According to him, Rivers people and residents as well as commercial drivers need a quality commissioner for transport to manage this sector. “There is no state in Nigeria that is doing well in this sector that does not have a quality commissioner for Transportation. If our governor wants to appoint a commissioner for Transport, it must be somebody who has the knowledge of the sector. In fact, the incoming commissioner for Transport must be somebody who has an idea of what the sector is all about, “ he advised.
Chief Monday pointed out that since the return of civil rule in the country none of the successive commissioners for Transport in Rivers State had done well.
On the reason for a new and competent commissioner for Transport, Chief Eleazar had this to say: “There is need for the commissioner for Transport in Rivers State. This is because it is the commissioner for Transport that will liaise with the commercial transporters and the state governor.”
He described the transport sector as a very wide sector. “Apart from the transport sector being a wide sector it is a sector that renders essential services to the masses. Our leaders and those in position of trust or authority should know that anything they do for the transport sector they do for the masses.”
The chairman explained that the leadership of NURTW in Rivers State had made a lot of proposals to the Rivers State Ministry of Transport towards going into a scheme with an international company known as FUND Motors but there has been no positive response from the Rivers State Ministry of Transport. He added that Rivers State government should borrow a leaf from the Bayelsa State government which had introduced transportation scheme in Bayelsa State since 1999.
“Officials of NURTW in Rivers State have made a lot of proposals to the Rivers State Transportation ministry but no response. I want to tell you that there is no state in Nigeria that does not have a functional transportation scheme. For instance, Bayelsa State government has a mass assisted transportation scheme. Therefore, I want to charge the Rivers State government to borrow a leaf from their Bayelsa State counterpart.”
He urged the political class and policy makers not to see the transport sector as an ordinary sector.
“What we were trying to do is to do or achieve is to bring an Assembly plant in Rivers State.” Chief Eleazar asserted.
The chairman also hinted that part of the agreement and consensus with FUND Motors Company was that the company would supply 1,000 cars after the initial deposit of N500,000 to the company.