Obiano gives deadline to ‘okada’ riders to vacate Onitsha, Awka

Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has given commercial motorcycle riders, popularly called Okada riders, in Onitsha and Awka until July 1 to vacate the two cities.
The directive of the governor was contained in a statement on Wednesday in Awka.
The statement, signed by James Eze, the Chief Press Secretary to Obiano, explained that the directive followed resolution by the Anambra State Executive Council after a meeting on Tuesday.
“The ultimatum given to Okada operators in the two cities is part of the overall strategy adopted by the state government to deepen its crackdown on crime and restore sanity to Onitsha, the commercial never centre and Awka, the capital city,” the government said.
The governor further directed residents of some make-shift structures on the banks of the River Niger stretching from Onitsha to Ogbaru to vacate the place before August 1.
Authorities noted that the waterfront had been marked for demolition.
It said the demolition of the waterfront was another measure to check activities of men of the underworld in the state.
Obiano said the deadline given to Okada operators and the shanty-dwellers is intended to offer them enough time to make the necessary adjustments ahead of government’s action.
The statement said other resolutions by the council include the establishment of a Committee on Environment with a mandate to clean up Anambra State, clearing out garbage dumps and overflowing drainage systems.
The state government also said the council equally resolved to demolish illegal structures that were either obstructing the way or ruining the aesthetics of the Anambra State environment.
“The committee is expected to sustain the on-going campaign to put an end to roadside trading that often leads to avoidable traffic congestion and return sanity to the roads and highways of Anambra State,” the statement said.
It explained that reinforcing the hard line posture of Obiano’s administration against street-trading and erection of illegal structures across the state, the governor specifically commended the agencies behind the ongoing demolition exercise in the state.
The governor said the team should sustain the momentum until the state begins to wear a better look even as he sent a note of warning to owners of illegal structures along the famous Awka Road in Onitsha.
The Council frowned at the current practice by some Awka residents who sometimes dump their refuse along the road around the Zik Avenue axis.