Transporters and other trade unions in Plateau State, operating as Plateau State Joint Transport, Traders and Marketers Association, stated on Tuesday that they will have a sit-at-home event throughout the state on Wednesday, April 4, 2024.
Abubakar Garba, the spokesperson for the group, revealed at a press conference in Jos on Tuesday that their action was meant to express their opposition to the executive order signed by the state governor, Caleb Mutfwang.
Mutfwang had signed Executive Order No. 003, 2024, last month, to regulate the unlawful construction of buildings and traffic congestion in the state, as reported by The PUNCH.
Hart Bankat, the General Manager of Jos Metropolitan Development Board, explained that the executive order was necessary due to the unregulated manner in which buildings were being constructed and the decline in traffic control within the Greater Jos Master plan, along with the prevalence of building collapses in the state.
The executive order banned trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles from entering the Central Business Area (Jos-Bukuru Metropolis) from 6 am to 9 pm, with vehicles of violators being impounded and their drivers facing a N500,000 fine.
However, Abubakar Garba, the spokesperson for the Plateau State Joint Transport, Traders and Marketers Association, rejected the executive order at the press conference in Jos, stating that it infringed on their fundamental human rights and was detrimental to business survival in the state.
He noted that currently, no truck owners are willing to transport goods from other states to Plateau State due to the executive order.
Garba, who expressed dismay over the seizure of their trucks by task force officials, demanded their immediate release.
He stated, “Upon investigation, we discovered that the roads being barricaded by the government were actually constructed by the Federal Government to facilitate movement between states and within the country.
“As a result, limiting vehicular movement on those roads violates our constitutional right to movement guaranteed by the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Therefore, we call on the Plateau State government to reverse the executive order by promptly releasing our impounded trucks, establishing designated routes for trucks, and permitting trucks transporting goods to Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Borno, and Jigawa states to use the bypass roads to their destinations.
“We also urge the government to construct test terminals to support the effective implementation of the executive order and to reduce the restriction time from 9 pm to 6 am to 5 pm to 7 am, in order to alleviate the challenges faced by truck owners and the high costs of goods and services for citizens.
“We will continue to pursue all available legal avenues to uphold our fundamental rights, and we have decided to declare Wednesday, April 3, 2024, as a warning strike to sit at home in protest against the regrettable executive order 003, 2024, and we will continue until a permanent resolution is reached.”
When reached out to, the state Commissioner for Information, Musa Ashoms, said government officials were in a meeting with leaders of the trade union to resolve unclear areas concerning the executive order, which he said has come to stay.
