Anambra plans tougher sanctions on dangerous driving, to digitize motor parks

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By Madu Obi

The Anambra State government says it would approach the State House of Assembly for an amendment to the extant traffic law to impose tougher sanctions on dangerous driving across the state.

Rising from its weekly Executive Council meeting at the Light House, Awka, the state government also announced plans for the digitization and standardization of all motor parks in the state.

"Offences such as driving against oncoming traffic and driving across dual carriageway to shorten U-turn distances will attract very heavy fines and a 'Mental Status Examination (MSE)', "the Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Law Mefor said after the meeting.

According to him, the measure is intended to curb recklessness and protect lives on Anambra roads.

Mefor added that to improve the quality of transport services, all motor parks in the state will be standardized and digitized.

He explained that the proposed modernisation will ensure a minimum infrastructure benchmark for motor parks and streamline intrastate and interstate commuting, warning that parks that fail to meet the set standards within the stipulated grace period will be phased out.

The Commissioner said further that following the state of emergency on the environment declared two Saturdays ago, the Council resolved to deepen the intervention at the grassroots, noting that communities will be mobilized to take proactive steps against erosion and to enforce compliance against practices that worsen it.

He warned that dumping of refuse in drainages, channeling runoff water from homes directly onto roads and building on water channels, have been prohibited, adding that offenders would be seriously sanctioned.

Mefor said that primary and secondary schools will play a central role in the mobilisation to entrench environmentally responsible behavior among young people.

The state government also reaffirmed its commitment to open governance and welcome constructive public criticism, but strongly condemned what it called the spread of fabrications and falsehoods on social media.

Describing them as criminal defamation, government advised public servants whose character and reputation are injured by such fabrications to seek legal redress.

It also cautioned content creators to distinguish between fair criticism and criminal fabrication.

Meanwhile, the Council has reviewed progress on the Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP), which is a Federal Government initiative supported by the World Bank and aimed at improving the socio-economic well-being of rural and peri-urban women.

Mefor said that strategies have been mapped out to ensure that women targeted by the programme in Anambra State receive the full benefits.

"As the first standalone programme dedicated to women’s economic empowerment in Nigeria, NFWP seeks to bridge gaps in opportunity, skills, and resources", Mefor stated.