RTEAN appeals to FG, states to review inter-state travel ban

The Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) on Sunday appealed to the federal and state governments to review inter-state travel ban occasioned by the lockdown to curtail coronavirus (COVID-19) spread.

RTEAN National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Abdulrahman Amusan, who made this appeal in an interview in Lagos, said the sufferings of transport operators were becoming unbearable.

The federal government had announced the ban on inter-state travel on May 4, to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the country after a five-week lockdown in some states.

Amusan said that the federal and state governments should not forget or abandon transport operators whose businesses and sources of livelihood have been paralysed, adding that the union equally expects some sorts of palliatives from the various governments.

According to him, the government should consider and expedite action on reviewing the ban on inter-state travel and also provide some palliatives for transport operators that have been at home for about three months now.

“We appeal to the federal government and the state governors to consider lifting the ban because the hardship and losses are huge for operators.

“We have lectured and admonished our members, whose sources of livelihood have been paralysed by the lockdown and the ban on inter-state travel to strictly adhere to all the COVID-19 prevention guidelines and protocols.

“The hardship has come to an unbearable point. Our members have endured and have tried to go through those hardships,” the RTEAN spokesman said.

Amusan stated that the union is in total support of the efforts of the government in combating the novel coronavirus and will continue to support the government in all its policies and programmes, especially during this pandemic.

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“We can all imagine the plight someone who does not have any other source of livelihood apart from state to state, city to city transportation without any assistance from the government in the last three months.

“We appeal to the governments at the federal and states to come to our aid. We are appealing to the government and we are assuring that we are ready to obey all the guidelines and protocols.

“Even if the ban is lifted, it will take some time before affected operators will get themselves afloat and settle all the financial burdens,” he said.

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 had on June 23, said it has started reviewing the guidelines for lifting the ban on inter-state travels.

Also, the PTF National Coordinator, Dr. Sani Aliyu, had said the roads would be opened when all bus terminals in the country had COVID-19 preventive measures in place.