Imo PDP tackles Uzodinma over environmental agency’s alleged acts of terrorism

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Imo State chapter, has expressed its worries over the Imo State Environmental Transformation Commission (ENTRACO) which it alleged has become a terrorist arm in the Governor Hope Uzodinma administration.

PDP also expressed fears that if nothing is done urgently to address the alarming drift of ENTRACO from the normal, it might snowball into something more dangerous and untoward.

In a statement issued in Owerri by Lancelot Obiaku, the PDP State Publicity Secretary, the party said that when people hear the word “terrorism” and cast their minds quickly to armed groups living in forests and disturbing the peace of the people, yet terrorism is not always found in the forest.

“It could also wear reflective vests, drive government-branded trucks, and moves about in the city, sowing fear in the hearts of innocent people”, he said.

PDP regretted that what happened along Toronto/MCC Road in Owerri, a few days ago, as captured by a CCTV camera, is nothing short of terrorism, adding that they watched as men armed with cutlasses, bottles, and other dangerous weapons pounced on motorists and traders.

He described it as not enforcement but violence, saying that the party observed with dismay the way and manner the armed group , called Imo ENTRACO, unleashed fear and bodily harm on citizens, no matter the name it bears.

Read also: We’ll resist impunity, uphold justice in PDP – Wike

According to the party, the action fits the description of a terrorist organization, noting that their fear is that these men operate under the protection of the government.

“While condemning these excesses, the PDP asserts, instructively, that ENTRACO was never designed to operate in this manner. The commission was established in 2008 for beautifying and maintaining a clean, green and healthy environment in the state, and this includes overseeing sanitation, cleaning of gutters, planting of flower and trees, and other efforts targeted at the creation of an environment healthy for human habitation”, he said.

Obiaku recalled that during the administration of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim who established the Commission, ENTRACO achieved this mandate by making the city clean, while the people were at peace with the agency’s activities.

He observed that lately, particularly since the appointment of one Anyahie as chairman, ENTRACO has drifted from its founding purpose, and that instead of cleaning and beautifying the state, it has become a source of daily torment to motorists, traders, and small business owners.

He said: “Imo PDP wonders how the Imo State Traffic Management Agency (ISTMA) which already exists and which is empowered by law to handle traffic and parking violations will be in operation, while ENTRACO takes up the business of wielding cutlasses and chasing drivers across the city and State.”

The party accused the State Governor of empowering one of his aides to move about with thugs and people looking like common criminals who wield all kinds of weapons in the name of monitoring and evaluation.

The party explained that with these incongruous moves, the government was encouraging banditry and cultism, and building monsters, regretting that when they metamorphose to full blown terrorists, the government will not turn around and accuse the opposition parties of sponsoring terrorism in the state, as it has always, irrationality, done.

PDP insisted that if by any means the government has given ENTRACO authority to overreach, they must carry out their duties with respect for human dignity.

“Accordingly ,the use of violence against citizens runs contrary to the oath the Governor took to protect lives and property in Imo State and the law establishing the commission,” he said.

The party recalled that just two months ago, Naze youths blocked Imo ENTRACO office in protest of allegedly killing one of their brothers in an accident caused by ENTRACO operatives.

He described it as unfortunate that after every tragedy they cause, the ENTRACO releases arrogant and unapologetic statements from its untrained mouthpieces which tend to add insult to injury.

The Publicity Secretary cited an example with other states and cities, including Enugu, Abia and Aba, where traffic offences are curtailed without cruelty

He further explained that the Abia State Harmonized Task Force (ASHTF) enforces order firmly but humanely while officials are trained, and they listen and one can reason with them.

Obiaku said that they do not behave like street thugs, cultists and terrorists, describing it as shame that the same cannot be said of ENTRACO officials in Imo State who seem to derive joy from inflicting pain. “This is not good for a state once known for its civility and love for education”.

“And, let us make it clear, the brave resistance of youths along MCC Road, which unfortunately led to bloodshed, should serve as a warning. When government agencies become a source of oppression, the people will eventually rise in self-defense. If nothing is done to check the excesses of ENTRACO, we fear that one day the situation may escalate beyond control”, he said.

PDP has, therefore, called on the governor to stop ENTRACO from harassing and destroying the businesses of petty traders who do business without obstructing movement, adding that these men and women are only trying to keep their families fed.

The party pointed out that the young men and women running POS businesses are striving to earn honestly rather than engage in crime, yet they are constantly chased, beaten, and stripped of their tools of trade. According to the party, many have lost huge sums, goods, chairs, tables, and umbrellas in the process of running from ENTRACO officials.

The PDP therefore, called for the employment of the right people and proper training of officials employed for any kind of enforcement in the state, while advising that if any government agency must enforce a policy, it must approach it through engagement with the people directly affected and all stakeholders, and persuasion.

“This is what the PDP will do if it were in power in the state. The idea of waking up one morning to commence the destruction of people’s means of livelihood must be shunned,” he said.
He noted that Imo people only want to live in a clean and orderly City but not in fear and that Imo people want to respect the law, but not at the cost of their dignity and safety.

He said: “ENTRACO must, therefore, be reined in and redirected to its original duty which is environmental transformation, not intimidation.”