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Governors Chukwuma Soludo and Sheriff Oberwori of Anambra State Delta State respectively have been asked to direct free flow of traffic at Niger Bridge this yuletide .
Human Rights, Liberty Access and Peace Defenders’Foundation (HURIDE) and Campaign for Democracy (CD) in a statement made available to newsmen in Onitsha, Anambra State asked the two Governors to ensure no individual or groups constitute traffic gridlock on the Bridge this season .
In the statement signed by Dede Uzor A Uzor, the Executive Director, HURIDE and chairman, CD in the South East, the rights group lauded Governor Soludo for the palliative work carried out at the Onitsha end of the bridge before now, saying that it has contributed significantly to the current little flow of traffic on the Bridge.
But they said much are still left as the security operatives at the Bridge like the Police and Road Safety personnel still contribute to grid lock at the Onitsha and Asaba end of the bridge .
The group equally blamed touts and commercial bus drivers who load and discharge passengers at the Onitsha end of bridge and on top of the bridge as the major cause of gridlock on the bridge.
They also lamentedt that some motorists especially commercial bus drivers reverse on top of the bridge,stating that all these drastically slow down traffic on top of the bridge, stressing that the situation would be worse of in this yuletide because of high inflow of human and vehicular traffic into Onitsha for Christmas purchases and those who would return back to their respective villages during this period.
The group said the activities of security operatives were even worse at the Asaba end of the bridge, alleging that from 5pm Police men of Delta State Police Command mount four different road blocks immediately after the bridge where they they extort motorists, thus causing gridlock as long as they remained there.
The rights group called on the two Governors to direct their aides to ensure that the objective of constructing Second Niger Bridge, which is to reduce traffic going into Onitsha by diverting them to Second Niger Bridge was achieved, Dede Uzor lamented
