Director General of the Bauchi Road Transport Agency (BAROTA), Air Commodore Tijjani Baba Gamawa (rtd) during a press briefing in Bauchi
ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi-
The Director General of the Bauchi Road Transport Agency (BAROTA), Air Commodore Tijjani Baba Gamawa (rtd), has said the Agency has arrested over 100 commercial drivers for picking or dropping passengers outside the designated parks in the metropolis.
Gamawa, who disclosed this during a press conference in his office in Bauchi on Tuesday, said those arrested were made to pay a fine of N20, 000 for first time offenders, while second offenders were made to pay N40, 000.
According to him, these fines were paid directly into the state government’s coffer adding that this was done by BAROTA’s Committee for Enforcing Illegal Motor Parks.
While giving a rundown of the activities of BAROTA since its Inauguration, he said that the over 100 offenders have been arrested and made to pay various amounts as fines to the tune of about N4million paid into the coffers of the state government.
“We want to bring to your notice that the committee for illegal motor parks and park, has tremendously made a lot of efforts. When you look at Bauchi today, for the past three months, you’ll see that we have moved all the illegal motor parks to the designated parks that were approved by the government.
“Also, all drivers that drop or pick passengers on the way, we have been able to curtail them to those designated places and with that, we’ve been able to sanitize the state and this has even improved our security situation”.
“So far, so good, within the period we started now, because once we arrest you, whoever you are, there’s no favour, you have to pay N20,000 and once you pay the money, it goes into the account of the Board of Internal Revenue and they will give you a receipt, I don’t even see it.
“Since we started, we’ve been able to collect a revenue of over N4 million which went straight to the government coffers and we’ve arrested over 100 drivers and we will continue, even yesterday, I personally arrested two,” he stated.
The BAROTA DG stated that a committee set up by the governor for the relocation of illegal traders in Bauchi would soon relocate 298 traders at the Muda Lawal market to a different location, while noting that their relocation letter has been given to them already.
He, however, warned tricycle operators who carry spare drivers to immediately stop, warning tat anyone caught would be arrested, and charged to court while the impounded tricycle would only be released after the payment of fine.