Truck drivers block Taraba, Benue boundary to protest extortion
Truck drivers on Monday morning blocked the border between Taraba and Benue states in protest in protest extortion.
The truck drivers lamented the illegal extortion and illegal checkpoints by security operatives on transported food items and passengers.
The chairman of the truck drivers, Wukari Branch, Wunuken Hosea explaining the reasons for their action told Channels Television that extortion on the Benue axis of the boundary is contributing to the high cost of grains across the country.
“Despite dialogues with security operatives and revenue collectors on agricultural produce, the trend has continued unabated with a huge increase in the amount demanded from us,” Hosea explained.
He insisted that there is no going back on the blockade until the relevant authorities address their challenges.
The protest resulted in gridlock on the Taraba and Benue boundary which leads to the South-Eastern and western parts of Nigeria.
This is not the first time that truck drivers are embarking on such protest at the same spot with little or no effort to address their plights.
The protest comes less than 24-hours after the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) workers declared its support for the imminent industrial action by the Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch of NUPENG.
NUPENG in a statement on Sunday said transporters cannot afford to sit idle and watch her members continue to suffer due to inadequate freight rates being paid to them. (Channels TV)
