Passenger Welfare Scheme: How Ministry Of Transport In Connivance With Park Owners Extort Drivers Daily

By Godwin-Maria Utuedoye,

With the outright rejection and resistance of the of the passenger welfare scheme purportedly linked to the office of the ministry of transport, Delta State and introduced recently, the ministry in connivance with park owners in Delta State now extort money from drivers daily.

When SouthernVoicenews, visited some parks in Warri, Ughelli and Asaba, it was discovered that instead of the passengers parting way with the obnoxious welfare levy of N100 per passenger, the drivers are now the sacrificial lamb of this extortion, as the money is deducted from their dispatch in each trip before giving their money. 

Some drivers who spoke with reporters on condition of anonymity, expressed total displeasure and disappointment on the policies of the present administration led by Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, accusing him of insensitivity to the plight of the people. 

They said; “Most of this drivers are on hire purchase, and that they struggle to balance their bosses on daily basis and at the same time make up with their family demands, but frowned at government attitude of oppression, extortion and use thugs and touts to intimidate and harassed them every now and then”.

They lamented that, as drivers, there are so many hurdles faced by them that is unknown to the public, adding that for instance, there are several levies they pay to the government and their cronies which can never be accounted for aside multiple taxation in the form of stickers.

They disclosed that bad roads and litany of road blocks by security agencies and others are all on them, aside vehicle maintenance and fuelling.

A driver who uses a Sienna Mini Bus for transport angrily displayed a bundle of stickers with different inscriptions which he said they are compelled to buy quarterly, mid-year and yearly, aside other settlements to park. He said for instance, ‘I am loaded with Seven passengers now, but what comes to me as the owner of the vehicle is less than total amount paid by five passengers. Two and half passengers fare goes to the park owners who do not care whether a driver is sick, or even died in an accident, but lamented that even at that, the government still forcefully deduct from them forcefully. 

He stated that due to the suspected fierce resistance by Deltans, Governor Okowa and his commissioners has turn the other way round and now hanged it on poor drivers who struggle for survival as a result of unemployment in the society.

They noted that the majority of the drivers are qualified graduates with different degrees, but as a result of the embargo placed on employment by the Okowa administration, they have been unable to make ends meet, hence some has converted their personal vehicles to commercial vehicles. They queried what the offence of drivers is aside providing a service to the citizens.

SouthernVoicenews, monitored the activities at one of the parks and discovered that after loading the vehicle, a certain amount of the total fare is deducted from the drivers money and handed over to the agents of the ministry of transport on ground.

The question most of the drivers are asking is, since the inception of the collection in July, several vehicles have been involved in road accident, how many passengers have been treated by the state government or how many drivers have been compensated.

SouthernVoicenews curious about some of the issues raised by the drivers, confronted an official of the ministry, but she blatantly refused to talk to our reporter. A call to the Commissioner for Transport and Commissioner for Information for clarification was not answered nor returned. 
Meanwhile, the drivers are planning for a show down very soon as they have vowed to down tools should the government continue with the extortion being perpetrated in connivance with park operators and owners.