Tipper drivers to protest alleged N200,000 ‘extortion’ by govt agents

Tipper drivers in Onitsha, Anambra State, under the aegis of the Anambra Tippers Association, have threatened to protest the alleged forceful payment of various sums of money to the officials of the Anambra State Road Traffic Management Agency (ARTMA).
The chairman of the association, Ebuka Unekwe, who disclosed this to journalists in Onitsha on Thursday, alleged that ARTMA officials extort its members of money ranging from ₦200,000 and above under the guise of traffic control.
Unekwe said the ARTMA officials in Onitsha, led by one Akachukwu, claimed that the agency’s men were instructed by the agency’s managing director, Emeka Konti, to collect ₦200,000 from each tipper driver operating in the area.
He lamented that tipper drivers are being extorted in Anambra on a daily basis, noting that the roads from where they load the sand are dilapidated and unmotorable.
Unekwe complained that due to the unmotorable condition of the roads, vehicles always fall and often create problems for the drivers as they resorted to plying Niger Street through Port Harcourt Road down to Upper Iweka, all in Onitsha.