Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti has ordered the immediate restoration of the previous directives restricting movement of heavy duty vehicles within Umuahia and Aba metropolis between the hours of 7am and 8pm as part of measures in improving public safety on Abia Roads following the unfortunate accident at Waterside bridge Ogbor Hill Aba on Tuesday.
The Governor in a statement on Wednesday signed by the Senior Special assistant on Public Communication Mr. Dodoh Okafor said the Abia State Ministry of Transport and other relevant agencies of the Government have been directed to immediately activate all existing vehicle road worthiness and safety policies and enforce the laws as may be necessary to ensure safety on the roads, especially as the yuletide approaches.
The statement further revealed that in other to promote the safety of the public across all roads in the state, the government will set up a taskforce which would work on a 24-hour basis in Aba and Umuahia with a direct mandate to remove all damaged or immovable vehicles on the road as quickly as a report is received.
It stated that this would apply to heavy duty, commercial and private vehicles adding that the cost of removing such vehicles would be borne by the owners.