The job of 500 workers in Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria, ALBON, in Anambra State may be on the line following the state government’s directive for the luxury drivers to relocate to new bus terminal in Onitsha.
The luxury owners especially those who load at Izu Chukwu Park appealed to Governor Willie Obiano and Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Uchenna Okofor to allow them to remain where they were operating at upper Iweka since the park did not extend to the expressway or block the road.
The National Task force Chairman of ALBON, Chief Joseph Ejiofor and the Chairman of Anambra state zone ALBON, Mr. Uchenna Maduakor while briefing newsmen Monday said relocating to the new park at Okpoko which is far from the area of their operation, would cripple their business and make people mainly youths to lose their job.
“We h Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria, ALBON, in Anambra State is on the line following the state government’s directive for the luxury drivers to relocate to new bus terminal in Onitsha.
The luxury owners especially those who load at Izu Chukwu Park appealed to Governor Willie Obiano and Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Uchenna Okofor ave been here at Izu Chukwu Park since 2008 loading our luxury buses but they said we should relocate to a new park at Okpoko which is very far from us. We have over 500 workers feeding from this park. Our park is a private park which we are paying our rent annually, most of us just paid for the year and some boys came and announced that we should relocate even when our park is not along the expressway neither does it block the road.
“We don’t cause gridlock. We have even been helping to control traffic. Government should allow us to remain where we are. We are not on the road, we are inside Izu Chukwu Park approved by the government and we pay revenue to the government. We wonder why they said we should relocate to the new park while others are still where they load and queried: why singling us out? We appeal to the governor to come to our aid; we know him as hardworking governor who meant well for the state but he should listen to the cry of the people who feed from this park.
“We appealed to the state government to allow us to remain in our park or alternatively they should give us another place closer to our customers. That new place is not even government’s park; it is being managed by an individual. Government did not inform us before embarking on that project because it is not government’s park then why trying to force us to go to the park when we have our own park where we load comfortably?
“We have about seven luxury companies loading in this park. Anambra state government is the only state in the South-East zone that accommodate and support business to thrive and we commend governor Obiano for that and we appeal to him to consider the number of workers that will lose their businesses to the new order and have a rethink and look into the matter,” the group stated.
