The Imo State Government says it has recovered 41 vehicles allegedly stolen from its transport company known as Imo Transport Company, ITC, by the company’s previous managers and officials in the government of the past administrations.
Ibezim Onyekachi, the chairman of the management committee of ITC, told journalists on Monday, February 1, 2021, that the vehicles were recovered from Mass Transport Network, MTN, Company, Imo Travels and Tours, and some other transport companies owned by the former chairman of ITC and others who managed the company in recent past.
“We have recovered about 41 vehicles and still counting, from people who are with ITC properties.
“It is a fact that the former chairman here converted a lot of ITC vehicles to establish his own private transport company. Before he became chairman of ITC, he never owned a transport company. But, immediately he became ITC chairman, he became a transporter.
“Also, when he was exiting as the chairman of ITC, a lot of vehicles belonging to ITC went missing from various loading bays across the nation. The question is, what happened to all those vehicles? We later traced some of the vehicles to his private transport company”, he said.
Ibezim noted that part of the mandate given to his management committee by Governor Hope Uzodimma, was to recover both movable and immovable properties of the company.
According to him, “the state government already in court to get the individuals involved to be prosecuted, despite the fact that some Nigerians think that the safest place for criminals to run to and hide from punishment is the court”.
Apart from the stolen vehicles, Ibezim disclosed that his management were also recovering ITC vehicles that were impounded in Lagos and other states as well as company vehicles that were littered in police stations across the country.
“Even in ITC premises, we have recovered 35 vehicles abandoned by past managements of this company”, he added.
Residents of Maiduguri and environs have been thrown into lingering blackout following the destruction of one of the towers supplying electricity to the city from the national grid.
The blackout, which has lasted for one week, has grounded many businesses that are relying on power.
Those operating on generators are managing to render skeletal services.
Some residents, who spoke not only condemned the action of the insurgents but lamented the continued inability of the authorities concern to restore the power.
“It’s now one week and most people don’t know why there is no electricity in Maiduguri.
“We need to know what caused it and efforts by the power company to address the matter.
“You can’t leave people in darkness without explanation,’’ a resident, Ibrahim Abubakar, said.
Also, a welder, Moses Bala, said the development has grounded his business because he solely depends on electricity from the national grid for his work.
“Because of steady supply over the months, I solely depend on power from government, and now that there is no power for one week; I remain out of business.
“I can’t afford a generator as I am still young in this business,’’ Bala said.
He appealed to the authorities concern to expedite action to restore the electricity.
Musa Idris, Sahabi Abdulrahman, Amina Bello, and Talatu Musa who also lamented on the power outage on their small businesses said they do not know the cause of the power outage.
They said that they would want something to be done urgently to ameliorate their plight.
When contacted, the Corporate Communication Manager of Yola Electricity Distribution Company, YEDC, in charge of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, and Taraba states, Kingsley Nkemneme said he could not comment because the problem has to do with the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN.
“The TCN is in a better position to comment on this as the problem is not about distribution but transmission,’’ Nkemneme said.
This is the second time in three months that insurgents will be attacking the power transmission line to Maiduguri.
Source: The Nation
