Heavy truck owners vow to fight multiple levies in South East  region

By Cyprian Ebele , Onitsha

The National Chairman, Project Management and Implementation, Heavy Truck Owners, Marketers, and Suppliers Association, HATOMSA, Greg Chinonyelum Nwerem, has vowed to fight against multiple levies in the SouthEast region.

The group also inaugurated its zonal headquarters in Onitsha, Anambra State.

Inaugurating the zonal office, Nwerem lamented that Nigeria has not harnessed the gold in the transport sector pointing out that with the formation of HATOMSA, the gold will be harnessed to the advantage of the three tiers of government, drivers, transporters and Nigerians in general.

“We are going to unveil the gold in the transport sector and we are going to also fight the multiple levies that deter smooth running of the transport sector. These multiple illegal levies will not continue under my watch. We have an enforcement team that uses modern technology devices for enforcement.

“Multiple levies reap up the gains in the transport system and the government is trying its best and can not alone fight the war against multiple levies as it is occupied with scores of other bothering engagements.

“In whatever we do it has to do with transport, so transportation has all round connection and its smooth running will better the Nigerian economy, that is why we are here to inaugurate the Southeast zonal headquarters of HATOMSA as Onitsha is the commercial hub of business activities in the Southeast zone,” he disclosed.

Earlier in his address, the Southeast legal adviser, Chukwuma Eze, disclosed that the new zonal headquarters has all the necessary equipment to help it function to capacity.

“This organization is formed to better the welfare of all, including our drivers,all road users and government at all levels. To harness the potentials in the transport sector and improve on the nation’s economy,” he further explained.

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The Southeast coordinator, Arthur Anthony Okeyika, who is the CEO of Green energy group that is a conglomerate of eight companies,  disclosed that HATOMSA is all about service to the people which include revenue and empowerment for better living.

“This organization is also formed to have a unified body that will assist in the welfare of its members and society as the government is too preoccupied to attend to other pressing needs of the people,” he revealed.

In his speech, Alban Igwe, chairman, Anambra State Multimodal Transport Committee and member, United Nations Advisory Committee on Trade and Transport Locations, stated that there are only two important essentials to humanity and named them as “Transportation and Medicine even as he claimed transportation to be more important than medicine.

To buttress his point he said in all that man does the First thing is movement that has to do with transportation adding, “If one is sick it is transport that will take him to the hospital before the administration of drugs to the patient.”

On the inauguration of Southeast headquarters of HATOMSA in Onitsha he stated that Anambra is the nerve centre for transportation and urged members to see the project as very vital and serious reminding them that with the introduction of Southeast Development Commission, most of the potentials in the zone will be harnessed.

“Southeast Development Commission will play a major role especially in transportation. Nigeria is a gas economy and the bulk of it is from the Southeast zone. Southeast is where you can have the highest number of human resources, very exportable ones.

“A lot of resources are in the Southeast zone, coal, markets, industries, seaports, among others . The Potential of this region makes us proud. Anambra has the largest number of billionaires,” he further explained.

The National Chairman, Chris Ndubuisi Okonkwo, disclosed that the inauguration of the Southeast office will assist in no small measure towards harnessing of the transport potentials in the zone.

“It is going to prove to all that this body will work towards improving the IGR of the three tiers of government, welfare of our drivers and the general public,” he assured.

The Director of Media for the planning Committee, Alih Barnabas, who is the CEO, Aliban  De Great Industry Ltd, Onitsha, expressed satisfaction with the inauguration and described it as a welcome development.

“The inauguration will also inspire scores to participate fully in the transport sector in the Southeast as this body can assure them of protection in the course of doing their transport business,” he stated.

Speaking, an executive member of HATOMSA in Southeast, Ambassador Francis Chukwuka, said that the zone will create employment and better the welfare of their drivers, lamenting that they do not give retirement  benefits like pension and health insurance schemes for drivers.

“So we want to assist them by creating these benefits as human beings, they should not be isolated because they play a key role,” he affirmed.

Also, the CEO of AFF Landport Global estate Ltd, CJ Osim, disclosed that the inauguration will assist most people in their lives assuring that God is involved in the project inauguration.

“God is involved in what we are doing today. This is to assist people in managing their resources. We will partner with everybody who is ready to cooperate with us. We have inaugurated seven zones so far,” he revealed.

There was a prayer session conducted by His Eminence, Archbishop, Mike Chukwudum, the overseer, Rock of Fire Global Mission, Housing estate Fegge, Onitsha, that preceded the inauguration.

In his sermon the Archbishop stated that the zonal headquarters has come to stay as it is aimed at assisting in the provision of better welfare for both the drivers and others in the transport sector.