The days of touts and touting in Anambra State are numbered. This was the declaration of Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, during the launch of the Anambra Special Anti-Touting Squad last week at Upper Iweka, Onitsha – the notorious haven for touts.
It was a fit-fighting Governor Soludo who minced no words in going to the very den of touts at Upper Iweka in Onitsha to declare war against touting all over Anambra State. Soludo instructed the chairmen of markets to take responsibility of their domains. He handed down the warning that any market where touts are seen operating would face sanctions while the chairman will be sent packing.
Governor Soludo readily agreed that restoring law and order would be difficult in an environment where lawlessness had become a culture. The Governor’s mandate to the anti-touting squad is to adhere to laid down standards and the enunciated code of conduct guiding their operations.
He stressed that it is incumbent on members of the squad to collaborate with the armed forces that had the primary responsibility to keep the state safe.
According to Governor Soludo, the launch of the squad is an acceleration on the key promise “I made to the people living in the Greater Onitsha Area, which consists of Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Ogbaru, Oyi and Idemili to restore Anambra State known for law and order to its full glory as the Light of the Nation. When we assumed office, eight local governments were taken over. Thanks to the combined efforts of our security agencies and the Vigilante Service, these local governments have been liberated and normalcy has been restored. We have told the youths to come out from their hideouts and bushes. We shall help to rehabilitate and integrate them into the society to be useful to their families, communities, states and the country.”
Mr Governor continued: While dealing with hoodlums on a larger scale, we will be dealing with touts in the Onitsha Greater Area and Anambra State as a whole. We are fighting a war to bring back the soul of our society governed by law and order, not a society where anyone does what he or she likes without recourse to law and order.
Touts disturb customers who come from every nook and cranny of the country. This journey is to rescue Onitsha as a commercial hub and Anambra State in general. Phone numbers shall be made available to Ndi Anambra to inform the government of any touting activity they notice in their areas.
Governor Soludo highlighted the fact that the citizens should still remember and recall the campaign of “If you see something, say something!”
The Commissioner of Homeland Affairs, Chief Chikodi Anara, under whose charge the Anti-Touting Squad is anchored, stressed that the launch was the beginning of the journey of routing touts out of Onitsha and Anambra State. He gave the assurance to Governor Soludo that positive changes would be noticed by the month of December. On the other hand, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, AVM Ben Chiobi, exclusively disclosed that the squad is executing Mr. Governor’s agenda anchored on his first pillar, which is security, law and order. AVM Chiobi stressed that there would henceforth be zero tolerance for touts and touting starting from Upper Iweka, stretching to bridgehead. He pledged his determination to ensure that the entire land is sanitized of all manner of characters having no business in the environment.
Some 75 persons have been trained to be members of the anti-touting squad. They wear uniforms and have ID cards. They would be as civil as possible in the discharge of their duties, and will not carry arms. They will work with body cameras and walkie-talkies.
There is no gainsaying that the launch of the Anti-Touting Squad by Governor Soludo at the den of touts in Upper Iweka, Onitsha is indeed a great idea whose time has come.
Solution is here!
WRITTEN BY SIR PAUL NWOSU
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