Cab operators in C’River get 90-day ultimatum to paint vehicles

Cab operators in Cross River have been given a 90-day ultimatum to paint their vehicles in state colours or face prosecution.

The ultimatum was given on Thursday by the Director-General, Department of Public Transportation (DOPT), Mr Godwin Nyiam during a sensitisation workshop for drivers in the state.

Nyiam said that every driver involved in commercial activities must paint his vehicle in state colours and be registered to avoid being arrested and prosecuted.

He added that the 90-day ultimatum commenced from Jan. 16, 2020.

He also said that the Commercial Transport Regulatory Agency (CTRA) which was under DOPT must stop registering unpainted commercial vehicles, saying that it was totally against the agency’s mandate.

Nyiam spoke on the issue of forceful collection of transport levy by members of the taskforce on the roads in the state.

The director-general said he would meet with the relevant agency to ensure that the collection was done appropriately and in a civil manner

“We want to use this opportunity to launch our ‘Operation Psycha’. Anybody that parks where he is not supposed to park will be arrested and prosecuted.

“First, we will take you to a psychiatric hospital to confirm your mental status. If you are normal, we will prosecute you using the Cross River Traffic Regulatory Management Law.

“We have trained and retrained our officers on what to do. Within my department, those who had messed up, we disciplined them using the Condition of Service because they were civil servants.

“More than six officers had been punished in the past, ‘’ Nyiam said.

In a lecture titled: “The Causes, Effects and Prevention of Road Traffic Crashes’’, Mr Benedict Akunne, Deputy Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Cross River Command, called on drivers in the state to obey traffic instructions. (NAN)