TRUCK drivers protesting a tax hike for vehicles plying through Kogi State, especially on the Abuja-Lokoja-Okene road blocked the highway at NATACO end of the capital city, causing gridlock and disruption of vehicular movement.
The road which serves as a major link between travellers from the north and south was blocked for about eight hours. Many vehicles were forced to stop because of the protest, as the drivers blocked the road at both sides with their vehicles. Some travellers who spoke with journalists said they were shocked with the situation, adding that the blockage prevented over 500 vehicles from traveling along that route.
Some of the truck drivers alleged that they were “made to pay N2,000 then N5,000 and later increased to N10,000 by the Board of Internal Revenue without any notice,” stressing that the exorbitant taxation was a big surprise to them. They stated that at this critical period they cannot afford the money, just as they called on the Kogi State Government to revert its decision with immediate effect. However, it took the intervention of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps and the police to bring the situation under control.
The Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Abdullahi Chafe, who visited the scene of the incident, held talks with some of the truck drivers, as he appealed to them to make way for motorists. Chafe, while speaking with journalists, said they met with the leadership of the union and that all stakeholders will meet tomorrow to fine tune lasting solutions to the issue. He appealed to the truck drivers not to take the law into their hands, noting that the issue can be resolved without blockage of the road. Also speaking with journalists, Head of the Federal Road Safety Commission in Kogi State, Mr. Abayomi Omiyale, said they are in control of the situation, stressing that in the next three hours the place will be free for vehicles.
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