By Felix Ogbonna

ABA —Despite the efforts of the Abia State government to ensure that motorists in Aba make use of approved motor parks, more roadside motor parks are still springing up daily at many areas of the city. From Asa, Park, Pound, St. Michaels, Hospital and Azikiwe roads at the city centre, transporters have converted every available space like filling stations, parking lots, entrance to buildings and pedestrian walkways to loading bays.

Some  tankers parked by the road side

It is the same situation are the Waterside, Omoba and Opobo junctions on Ikot Ekpene road in Ogbor Hill, Brass junction, Ngwa/ Port Harcourt road junction, Factory road as well as the Osisioma Ngwa junction along the Enugu—Port Harcourt expressway where the number of roadside motor parks continues to rise daily.

South East Voice investigations at the Aba city centre showed that there were more than 15 roadside motor parks between the Aba city centre and Azikiwe/Asa road junction.

Chairman of the Abia State Task Force on Environment and Allied Matters, Capt. Awa Udonsi Agwu, rtd, had told newsmen in Aba, that most motor park in the state were highly underutilized and called on transport operators to patronize them instead of using illegal parks.

His words, “Most transporters have abandoned the approved motor parks in every part of Aba. Out- going Gov. Theodore Orji recently built the Osisioma Ngwa Motor park with modern facilities. As I’m talking to you now, that park is highly underutilized. Another one is at the Burrow Pit/Enyimba Motor Park along the express way. There are Ehere, Ogbor Hill, Alaoji Flyover and Cemetery Motor parks. We are appealing to these transporters to use government approved motor parks.

“The Taskforce is determined to enforce the relocation to motor parks because the Aba Master Plan never included the sitting of motor parks at unapproved places. We have been appealing to the transport operators to relocate to the Aba Main Motor Park. From our deduction, these transporters prefer to load by the roadside, perhaps they make more profit there, but government is determined to return sanity to Aba.”

Udonsi further lamented that some transport companies have converted the Aba main motor park to a garage where they wash and maintain their vehicles, covering available spaces for transporters to load and off-load their passengers.