BRIGHT AMAEWHULE AND HIS TASKFORCE ON ILLEGAL STREET TRADING AND CAR PARKS

In an effort to keep the streets free from illegal trading and car parks, the River State Governor Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike set up Task force on Illegal Street Trading and Car Parks across major axis of the state capital Port Harcourt with the Chairman of Grass Root Development Initiatives -GDI, Bright Amaewhule as the chairman. And to show how serious he is concerning the Task force, Governor Wike on evening of Sunday 20th of October, 2019 invited members of the Task force on illegal trading and Car Parks into the Chambers of Government House Port Harcourt. The motives may not be unconnected with the facts that he wanted to reinvigorate more energy into the Taskforce and to remind them that a lot of Rivers state youths wanting to be employed and they may be replaced if their performance is beyond his expectations. In his statement on that Sunday afternoon he said: “If the productivity of the Task Force continues to go down by tomorrow, I will dissolve the Task Force. We will not tolerate a situation where the progress we have made is reversed. All acts of extortion must stop forthwith. Any operative found wanting in this regard will be sanctioned. There is no reason why you should receive bribes from defaulters”.

The governor’s warning came on the backdrop of the Task force officials compromising and colluding with traders along major streets especially those found along Education Bus Stop in Ikwerre and Mile One Market area, Whimpey Junction and Rumuokoro. While he was Executive Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in early 2000 A.D to 2002 he was known for enforcing severe Edicts of the Local Government Council under his watch making Obio/Akpor LGA a dreaded passage way by Motorists into the capital city of Port Harcourt with Task force members jumping into cars and trucks collecting various illegal levies outside specifications by the Edicts setting up such task force. It was the same manner the Task Force on Illegal Street Trading, Market and Car Parks had continued to exhibit such tendencies that warranted his summoning them into Government House on the evening of Sunday 20th of October, 2019.Worst hit by the Task force earlier in their operations were the activities of Newspaper vendors who use the street corners in displaying various Newspapers and magazines as essential products for information dissemination in a democratic setting. But Bright Amaewhule demanded for Permit which is a statutory function of Local Government Authority before each Newspaper Vendor gets his wares displayed. It was by the challenge of the Rivers State Chapter of Newspaper Distributors Association of Nigeria vowed to engage in industrial Strike that prompted Mr. Bright Amaewhule Coordinator Task Force on The Street traders, Market and Car park to take backward steps in not engaging into further harassment and illegal arrest of newspaper vendors. If that was not taken it could have been alluded that the Governor has intentions of stifling democratic principles of allowing the citizenry to know what he is doing in the services of their state through reading newspapers and other journals.

Majority of these vendors are undergraduate and post-graduate students self-sponsoring themselves in various institutions of higher learning in Rivers state.

Determined to return Port Harcourt into its original Garden City status he told the Task Force members thus “From now on, we will change our strategy. We are going to activate communication outlets for immediate response whenever criminal elements attack the operatives. Security operatives will be on ground for rescue operations when the need arises. We must show that we are ready to protect the operatives at all times. We are determined to clean up our streets, stop illegal trading and improve all round security.”

Before now, the Task force on Illegal Street Trading, Market and Car Parks were attacked at Rumuokoro Roundabout and other locations as majority of the affected displaced street hawkers and hustlers attempted assaults and compromising their efforts to clear the streets of hoodlums, street urchins and vandals who it is alleged were part of security infractions in Rivers state.

In a statement made available to www.towncrier.ng the Special Assistant to the Governor on Electronic Media, Mr. Simeon Nwakudu stated “Governor Wike said that the Task Force started excellently, noting that they should not allow themselves to end badly. He said that if this set fails, they would be shown the way out.” There is on-going Bio metric survey on 200 cadets of the Task force on Illegal Street Trading, Markets and Car Parks generally meant to reinforce the existing team in keeping Port Harcourt free from filth sand well secured for the good of the populace in Rivers state. Majority of the refuse generated may not be unconnected with the activities of illegal street markets and car park operators that litter the streets with junks and ruminants being by-products of their trade.

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