Taraba Business owners lament indiscriminate parking of trucks on expressway
Jethro Yerga, Jalingo
Business owners, operating at the road block area of Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, have expressed worry over the indiscriminate parking of trucks and other heavy vehicles along Jalingo expressway.
In an interaction with Journalists in Jalingo, some of the business owners stressed that the indiscriminate parking of the trucks has created congestion that led to the untimely death of many persons through different forms of accidents on the roads
They stressed that the truck drivers, had turned the portion between pedestrian bridge at roadblock to their parking space without concern for the consequences of their actions and appealed to relevant authorities to take appropriate actions to address the menace
A shop owner who simply Identified himself as Mr Chibuike Paul, lamented that he had been battling with the challenge at his shop for over four years now.
“They have blocked my shop and turned this place to garage. I had to report the matter to the Commissioner of police but he told me that the government would have to complete the ongoing trailers park before the heavy vehicles would be moved out of those places.
“But it’s quite unfortunate that the express way here has been turned to mechanic garage blocking my customers. I want to plead with the Taraba State governor, Dr Agbu Kefas to help provide an immediate measure and prevent some of the untimely deaths emanating from this horrible act”, he added
Mrs Doris Jonathan who sales Pepper soup along the area said the activities of drivers of the heavy vehicles had called for great concern as their indiscriminate parking had caused several accidents that claimed lives ade the the express way risky.
She stated that criminal elements, most at times, hide under the trucks in the night and come out occasionally to perpetrate all sorts of crime around their business premises and appealed to the State Government and Federal Road Safety Corps as well as other traffic officials to come to their aid
When contacted, the Chairman, National Association of Road Transport Owners NARTO, Taraba State chapter, Alhaji Hamman Adama Tukur said, most of the truck drivers who park along the road block expressway do only take respite to continue their journey at a later time
He commended Governor Agbu Kefas for the trailer park project at Kpantinapu along Jalingo Yola express way, stating that as soon as the park was completed, trucks would no longer be seen in the places in question
On his part, the Taraba State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Commandant Abdulmaliq Bello assured the residents and business owners at road block to exercise patience, emphasizing that as soon as the trailer park was completed, no truck would be allowed to park in those areas
He said the command has stationed officers at roadblock area, to ensure safety of road users, even as he lauded the efforts of governor Agbu Kefas for the construction of the trailer park in the state.
