DELTA STATE PASSENGERS’ WELFARE SCHEME LAW AND THE BURDEN OF NON COMPLIANCE

The Delta State House of Assembly in the year 2000 enacted a law to provide for compensation for would – be accident victims travelling within and outside the state, using governnent approved motor parks.

The scheme is funded by governnent with a contribution of 100 naira per passenger captured in the approved passengers’ manifests in both private and public motor parks in Delta State.

The State Directorate of Transport, which is charged with the implementation of the scheme, has for the past three months launched sensitization/awareness campaigns in both the print and electronic media, accounting for over 70 percent compliance with the law, particularly in Asaba.

Motor park operators, drivers and passengers alike, in most of the parks visited by our reporter in Asaba, have embraced the scheme because, according to them, it has enhanced the safety of passengers some of whom had been robbed and kidnapped in the process of boarding vehicles outside the governnent approved motor parks.

Prior to the introduction of the scheme, most accident victims had also not been accounted for because of the absence of passengers’ manifests, while those lucky to be rescued alive could not be compensated for injuries suffered in the course of their journeys.

Some drivers and passengers who spoke with our reporter in some of the motor parks, commended the Delta State Governnent for introducing the scheme and urged all public and private park operators to key into the scheme.

Investigation by this medium, however, revealed that the compliance enforcement team, which operates along side a mobile court, has not had all smooth operations as some drivers, hiding under the cover of unions have, at some points, disrupted the operations of the team and even the sitting of the mobile court.

In one of such incidents on Friday, July 23, 2021, while the team, led by the Director of Land Transportation, Engr. Victor Omoniyi, was on its lawful duty on the Ibusa – Ogwashi highway, with a mobile court in session, when a bus with registration number DT/CB/00814B was impounded for violating the Passengers’ Welfare Scheme law.

The bus driver, in flagrant demonstration of rascality, came down, sat on the ground in front of the bus, picked up his phone and made a call and in a few minutes some fierce looking individuals, believed to be members of a drivers’ union, emerged with dangerous weapons and pounced on staff of the Directorate and members of the enforcement team, injuring three of them.

The injured were taken to the Police ‘B’ Division Asaba to report the incident, after which they were rushed to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.

While that was going on, the attackers were still at the operational area threatening the Magistrate who was sitting at the mobile court, following which he ordered the arrest of three of them and directed that they be remanded in police custody till Monday, July 26, for prosecution.

Why anyone would attack government officials carrying out a lawful duty, particularly one that is in the interest of the society remains unimaginable.

Governnent should, therefore, deal decisively with the individuals involved for working against its policy and violating the law, to serve as a deterrent to others.