Plateau truck drivers reject restriction on movement, declare sit-at-home

Transporters and other trade unions in Plateau State under the auspices of Plateau State Joint Transport, Traders and Marketers Association, on Tuesday, announced that there would be a sit-at-home across the state on Wednesday, April 4, 2024.

The spokesperson for the group, Abubakar Garba, who disclosed this at a press conference in Jos, the state capital, on Tuesday said their action was intended to voice out their rejection of the executive order signed by the state governor, Caleb Mutfwang.

The PUNCH reports that Mutfwang had last month signed Executive Order No. 003, 2024, to control the illegal erection of buildings and traffic jams in the state.

The General Manager of Jos Metropolitan Development Board, Hart Bankat, said the executive order became imperative considering the indiscriminate manner in which buildings were being erected and traffic control abysmally degenerated within the Greater Jos Master plan as well as the prevalence of building collapse in the state.

The executive order restricted trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles from coming into the Central Business Area (Jos-Bukuru Metropolis) from 6 am to 9 pm, while vehicles of defaulters shall be impounded and the drivers of same shall be liable to pay a fine of N500,000.

However, on Tuesday, the spokesman for the Plateau State Joint Transport, Traders and Marketers Association, Abubakar Garba, who led other members of the association to a press conference in Jos, rejected the executive order, describing it as an infringement on their fundamental human rights and inimical to business survival in the state.

He noted that at the moment, no truck owners are willing to convey goods from other states to Plateau State as a result of the executive order.

Source: Punch News