ARTMA Officials Caught Saluting Traffic Offender at Awka

Officials of the Anambra Road Traffic Management Agency (ARTMA) have been allegedly caught aiding and abbeting traffic violation in Awka, Anambra State capital in their bid to get tips from rich motorists.

A senior journalist who witnessed the incident, disclosed that the bizarre incident took place on Saturday under the popular Arroma Fly over in the state capital.

According to him, that dramatic event which he captured in photo took place when a man in a big car breached the traffic rule under the fly over “but because of his class (rich), those officers rushed to him and started hailing him and begging for money which he gave. They then made way for him to go”.

The journalist said such breach of traffic protocol by ARTMA officials had been a regular feature in the city and that efforts to disaude them from such discriminatory approach to traffic management had not yielded fruits so far.

Hear him: “Anyone who plies Awka Capital city roads won’t fail to observe how these pictured traffic officials openly beg money. It is so brazenly done that often times they abandon their duty post and run after people in their cars to collect money.

“You wonder if at all their office pays them and whether it’s too poor. But by far more worrisome is their penchant to observe their own rules in the breach by allowing “big men” to ply through the Aroma by House of Assembly Under Bridge, while apprehending “lesser” folks.

“I raised this issue last time I saw them apprehend a “common” citizen while letting the affluent looking ones go.

He urged the state government to put in place measures to sanitize the operations of the traffic management agency.

“This certainly doesn’t speak well for the state’s image and I call on the authorities concerned to address it”, he said.