Soludo reads riot act to touts in Anambra

Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Sir Paul Nwosu says the State Government’s intensified war against touts across the State is aimed at restoring freedom to motorists and other commuters.

Speaking on the backdrop of the recent arrest of some hoodlums in Onitsha Metropolis who nefariously branded a Mercedes car in the mode of the Anambra Internal Revenue Service for purposes of harassing and extorting money from drivers, Sir Paul said the State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo’s meeting with transporters and other stakeholders in the transport industry at Professor Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre in Awka, over the weekend, where he reduced the taxes levied on the operators, is being followed up with the intensification of the battle against touts, to make life more meaningful for Tricycle, Shuttle bus, and other commercial drivers.

He said to underscore the seriousness government attaches to the ban on touting, a set of Hotlines have been specifically created for the public to call anytime and anywhere touts are found to be in operation in Anambra.

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The Hotlines are: Airtel: 08122554530 and 08120356133, MTN: 07069680112 and 080669695398.

He advised members of the public to call Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra OCHA Brigade through these numbers for the instant apprehension and prosecution of the touts.
The Commissioner reiterated Governor Soludo’s stand that touting is not a feasible means of earning an income, adding that the Governor is poised to rehabilitate the touts who own up to engage in other businesses that are lawful and profitable.

He further said the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra OCHA Brigade and the Anambra State Joint Enforcement Team have mapped out strategies to bring the incorrigible touts to book, insisting that the situation where commercial transport drivers are being manipulated by some greedy touts into paying less than normal dues to the appropriate authorities will no longer be tolerated by the government.