By Pathway News
In a bold move aimed at restoring law and order on Edo State roads, the administration of Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo has announced an immediate and indefinite ban on the activities of several transport unions and revenue agents accused of extortion and illegal levies.
In an official government announcement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilor, (Esq.), the state expressed deep concern over what it described as a resurgence of illegal revenue collection carried out under the guise of authorized operations.
The banned unions include the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), ANNEWAT, and Drivers on Wheel. Additionally, Atalakpa Recovery Concept Ltd, a private consultant previously engaged to support revenue enforcement, has also had its mandate revoked over allegations of abuse and extortion.
According to the statement, the government had initially allowed some of these groups to work with the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) under strict terms.
However, the groups reportedly violated those agreements by engaging in cash collections, intimidation, and other forms of harassment against drivers and road users.
“The government considers these actions as acts of economic sabotage, social oppression, and a direct affront to law and order,” the statement read. “The era of using unions as fronts to harass, intimidate, or extort drivers and road users in the name of revenue collection is over.”
The state has now directed all motorists, drivers, and road users not to pay any form of cash or levy to these now-banned groups.
Citizens are encouraged to report any such illegal activities to the Edo State Special Taskforce, coordinated by SP Michael Anetor, via the hotline 08038157126.
Law enforcement agencies, including the Commissioner of Police, have been directed to arrest and prosecute any individual or group found violating this directive.Governor Okpebholo, described in the release as a “people-loving governor,” reaffirmed his commitment to sanitizing the revenue system and ensuring that no citizen is subjected to unlawful exploitation or harassment on Edo roads.
This sweeping ban is seen by many as a decisive step in dismantling the long-standing culture of illegal toll collection and union-led intimidation in the state’s transport sector.
