Sir: It has been a flurry of lamentations as founding members of the Luxury Bus Owners Association of Nigeria complain about the inability of the association to continue on a seamless delivery of transport services to Nigerians due to the failure of the leadership under Prince Emeka Mamah to convene the meeting of the association to elect new leaders.
The failure of the leadership under Prince Mamah to relinquish office after he was appointed as the commissioner for Environment Enugu state has also crippled the activities of the association at all levels, as pending crucial issues affecting the welfare of members have been left unattended to. The neglect of the affairs of the association, and failure to convene a general meeting has been jeopardising the ability of the association to regulate and monitor the activities of its members across the country.
It is expected that since he assumed the office of the commissioner for Environment in his home state of Enugu, that he would have handed over the reins of power to the next in command or at least conduct an election for new officials to emerge.
It must be placed on record that the association had since its inception by the founding fathers played a crucial role in the economic development of the country, as well as regulated the conduct of its members as they interface with hundreds of thousands of travellers on a daily basis. This has ensured that road travellers are availed of the best services by luxury bus operators across the country.
A situation where a vacuum exists in the leadership of the association while urgent matters are neglected is not only unacceptable but morally reprehensible. It remains confounding among the founding members of the association how as commissioner in Enugu state he will be able to run the affairs of the association which is located in faraway Lagos state.
It must be restated that the absence of an effective leadership has adversely affected the welfare of members of Luxury Bus Owners Association of Nigeria and rendered their activities comatose. This is capable of impacting the morale of members negatively, majority of whom convey passengers across the country on a daily basis.
It is therefore befitting that LUBOAN appeals to the federal and Enugu state governments to prevail on the Enugu state commissioner for Environment to immediately relinquish his position as LUBOAN president and organise an election for a new leadership of the association.
It is also important we use this opportunity to call on the Nigerian Police to investigate the recent molestation of a luxury bus driver whose vehicle was damaged by a team of policemen at kilometre 60 along Kaduna-Abuja highway. The incident which arose following an argument between the driver and the policemen resulted in the breaking of the company’s bus glass.
Another issue of concern among the members is the incessant abduction of luxury bus drivers along the Lokoja-Okene highway by men in military uniforms, which they lamented continues unabated on daily basis, and urged the security agencies to swing into action and arrest the situation before it gets out of hand.
Perhaps if there is a focussed leadership at LUBOAN, the plight of the luxury bus operators and their workers would have been receiving adequate attention by the relevant authorities, and the leadership is hereby urged to convene a general meeting without further delay.
- Boniface Nwufo, Onitsha.
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