By Great Ozozoyin Commercial drivers plying roads leading to Takum and Ussa local government councils of Taraba State have resorted ...
By Great Ozozoyin
Commercial drivers plying roads leading to Takum and Ussa
local government councils of Taraba State have resorted to using alternative
routes due to the degenerating security situation in the areas.
Some of the drivers who spoke to DAILY POST on Monday in
Jalingo, the state capital, said they have ceased plying the roads due to the
ongoing attacks by suspected militias.
Although none of them has fallen victim to any attack, they
said their move is preventive.
Aliyu Usman, who claimed to have been plying the route for
over 10 years, said he has resolved to “stop going there with passengers till
when the situation would be brought under control.” He said the military
checkpoints in the area have been dismantled and driving along the routes has
become very risky.
According to him “in the past, we used to be very
comfortable driving in and out of those places because soldiers are there in
the checkpoints checking those coming in and out. But now that they are no
longer there, it would be suicidal for some of us to still be driving through
the road.”
Like Usman, other drivers who bared their minds to DAILY
POST claimed that they now prefer to ply Jalingo-Yola road instead of insisting
on Jalingo-Takum-Ussa roads.
Confirming the positions of the drivers, the Takum branch
Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Bello Sule,
said the situation has forced most of the commercial drivers to withdraw their
services from the areas.
Citing insecurity as the reason that necessitated their
actions, he urged the state government to collaborate with the security
operatives in order to emerge victorious over the bandits.
He pleaded with the authorities to deploy more troops to the
areas as the insecurity is affecting food prices and other services in the
areas.
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