Passengers plying the Choba-Mgbuoba-NTA Road axis of Port Harcourt were on Wednesday morning left stranded after commercial drivers embarked on strike following the killing of their colleague on Tuesday.
Recall that a civil defence officer attached to the personnel of the Rivers State Taskforce on street trading and illegal motor parks shot and killed a driver along the Mgbuoba-NTA road.
Tuesday’s killing is the second involving drivers and the taskforce team along the route.
As tension heightened between the drivers and the taskforce team, police officers were drafted to quell the clash.
A commercial driver who spoke on the conditions of anonymity said they decided to embark on the strike due to the high-handedness of the taskforce team.
According to him, they face hostile attacks from the taskforce personnel on a daily basis which he said is affecting their work.
He said: “They treat us like slaves, impound our vehicles, discharge of passengers and make us pay huge sums of money. Other times, they vandalise our vehicles just because the governor gave them power.
“All we’re saying with this strike is that enough is enough. We want the governor call them to order so as to allow us carry on with our business”
The stranded passengers lamented that the strike has affected their movements greatly and urged government to look into the plights of the drivers.
