BY RAYMOND OZOJI, Awka
Members of Anambra State Keke Drivers Forum (AKDF) have appealed to the State Government to sustain the presence of Ocha Brigade at the Ifite -Aroma park inorder to discourage the blocking of roads.
The members of the group also commended the Managing Director of Ocha Brigade Mr. Celestine Anere for prompt response to their demands of decongesting the roads to ward off miscreants in the name of Keke drivers.
They prayed that the continuous presence of the Ocha Brigade will help in giving Aroma the status of third arm zone of the state.
According to the group, ifite-Aroma junction is the heart of the state capital and the state must do every thing to maintain sanity among the operators of Keke in the state.
Speaking to our correspondent,the coordinator of Keke drivers in Anambra State Comrade Osita Obi commended the MD of Ocha Brigade for his magnanimity in responding to the challenges of the drivers by sending his men to clear the area of the nuisance being caused by some characters parading themselves as Keke drivers.
According to him, Anere has demonstrated strong capacity by clearing the roads for traffic to move freely without hindrance.
He however appealed to Anere to sustain the tempo by retaining his men at Aroma junction to stem the tide of road blockage in the area.
Obi said that most of the people blocking the roads are cultists who have built themselves into untouchables in the state.
"We want to specially thank the MD of Ocha Brigade Anere for his wonderful response to the need of keeping Anambra State clean and safe. There have been much lawlessness created by some cultists in the area.
They block road at Aroma junction,which is the third arm zone of the state. We also appealed to governor Charles Soludo to give the necessary assistance to the brigade to enable them sustain its presence at the junction.
The third arm zone has the governor lodge under construction, Anambra State House of Assembly,the judiciary complex where the chief judge of the state goes to work every day, federal government Secretariat and also state government Secretariat and others.
This is the state third arm zone and must be kept safe and clean.
For the Keke drivers to deface the place is wrong and unacceptable.
The cult boys in ifite said it would be impossible for us to have garage but with the help of Ocha Brigade,we are having one.
We are happy with the MD of Ocha Bridge and his personnels" he said .
According to him,the group is aware that the presence of many Ocha Brigade personnel is affecting the operation of the agency,and they pleaded that it should continue for humanity sake" he stated.
He said that he is happy that the Keke drivers are being organised with the help of Ocha Brigade and promised that they would be law abiding.
Osita also appealed for the state government's intervention to checkmate the activities of cultists who disturb the smooth operation of the drivers, especially now there is anti cult law in place.
He said the Keke drivers are professional drivers and they don't want to be infiltrated with touts.
One of the organizers of the park, Mr Aguiyi okoronkwo who spoke with our reporter said that they are happy being in a safe private park now.
According to him,they were worried by the blockage of the road by some of their members.
He commended the MD of Ocha Brigade Celestine Anere for coming to their help, pleading with the brigade not to leave them because the miscreants will devour them.
According to him,if the Ocha Brigade leaves, the problem of road blockage will resurface.
He also commended the state Governor Prof Charles Soludo for the discovery of the person of Anere who is bent on giving the state the best.
According to him, Anere had been wonderful in providing them with the needed protection to work.
Another driver, Evaristus Mboto said they were tired of the confusion being created by road blockage and decided to find a place to have as a park.
"The Keke drivers congestion of road was embarrassing to some of them as the congestion caused alot of traffic.
We discussed with Comrade Osita Obi ,he asked us to talk to MD of Ocha Brigade and when we talked with him, he obliged our demands and today he has provided us with safe home for operations" he said .
According to him,for the past two weeks they started operations in private park several drivers who violated the rules have been arrested and nobody is loading by the road side.
He pleaded with the MD to continue to provide his personnel to guide and protect them and also to stop the indiscriminate loading on the road.
He called on state government to fish out the bad boys blocking road and creating traffic in the state, noting that the bad boys are the people creating negative image for Keke drivers.
He assured that immediately,they stabilize the park they will elect officers to manage themselves.
He also pleaded with the government to sustain the presence of Ocha Brigade at Aroma junction so that they can have peace and free flow of traffic.
Another Keke driver Augustine Okonkwo said he is grateful to the Ocha Brigade MD for providing them with personnel to safeguard them.
He also begged the Ocha Brigade MD not to leave them to their fate because the bad boys will destroy them.
According to him,before now they thought that if they entered the park,they may not have passengers, grateful enough passengers are graciously coming in to board.
He said that they are happy that roads are no longer being blocked by the drivers and pleaded with MD Ocha Brigade not withdraw his personnel.
He pleaded with the government to empower the Ocha Brigade the more to remain on its operations at Aroma junction.
Also Godwin Chigozie ,a Keke driver said they are happy being in a private park, operating according to law and order regulating Keke business.
"Iam happy being inside here ,if Ocha Brigade is not here ,we will be having alot of problems. We thanked Ocha Brigade MD for his love for the Keke Drivers,we want him to retain his personnel with us " he said .
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Aroma junction Awka cleared by Ocha-Brigade
