Mr Afam Mbanefo, Commissioner for Transport, Anambra, has commended all agencies that partnered the Ministry of Transportation to ensure free flow of traffic during Christmas.
Mbanefo gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Wednesday.
NAN reports that the agencies are: the Army, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Anambra Traffic Management Agency and Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra.
He said the state government was committed to ensuring free flow of traffic during the yuletide to make all visitors enjoy the best of the festivities.
According to him, to achieve the desired goal, Anambra and Delta governments collaborated to ensure free flow of traffic at the bridge-heads in Onitsha and Asaba.
“We also dismantled all the checkpoints on the bridge and its axis that has possibility to cause traffic jam so as to give smooth flow of vehicular and human movement,” he said.
The commissioner said the two state governments also agreed to remove the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) collection points at the foot of the bridge from both end.
“This initiative dates back to a meeting between the two governments in 2015, where they resolved to make such effort every Christmas for the good of their citizens,” he said.
Mbanefo urged all partners to keep faith with the launch as instruction was clear enough to maintain the programme till January 2022.
He assured the people coming in and out of Anambra of free and smooth movement.
He also commended Anambra Commissioner for Police, Mr Echeng Echeng, for his command’s effectiveness during the flash points and prayed for sustenance of same.
Mbanefo expressed gratitude to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) fir its commitment to work and traffic control across the state, and urged them not to relent.
He reiterated that the same attention would be offered to the people, especially during the new year celebration and beyond.
He also commended the Delta government team, led by Prof. Sylvester Monye, Chief Policy Adviser to the governor, for effective service at the Asaba end, which made the traffic control easier at the Onitsha end.
The commissioner appealed to all commuters, irrespective of their social status to exercise patience while on the road as security officials had been mandated to arrest and impound any vehicle that breached the traffic protocol. (NAN)
