RAYMOND OZOJI reports
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra State (OCHA-Brigade) Chief Celestine Anere has said that the allegations of his agency collecting N 1 Million from tipper drivers to release some drivers recently from their office in Onitsha and payment of N500,000 each to release confiscated tippers were all propaganda and malicious insinuations intended to ruin reputation of his agency.
It would be recalled that tipper drivers and sand miners had on February 6 this year held a press conference in Onitsha where both associations levelled all manner of spurious allegations and accusations against OCHA-Brigade claiming that the agency unleashed multiple taxations on them coupled with intimidations, harassments, molestations and all manner of brutality despite operating in illegal mining sites.
The Onitsha zone branch chairman of Anambra Tipper Drivers comrade Chukwuebuka Unekwe told this journalist that tipper drivers were currently on strike due to what he described as unwholesome treatments from government officials.
He also alleged that they had to pay the sum of N1 Million to release some of their colleagues in the custody of OCHA-Brigade last week and that about 20 tippers were still being confiscated by the agency.
He further alleged that OCHA-Brigade demanded that they paid their taxes or pay the sum of N500,000 to release each of the 20 tippers in their Onitsha office as the agency claimed that it was an order from one Professor Charles Ofoegbu, Managing Director of the Anambra State Solid Mineral Development Company Limited.
But Anere maintained his position that OCHA-Brigade has the sole responsibility of ensuring a clean healthy environment through enforcement of environmental laws and not collecting revenues from tipper drivers and sand miners.
Anere said, " There is nothing like that. All tippers seized at illegal mining dumps are still parked at Onitsha. Ocha Brigade is not in charge of tipper revenue. You might want to find out from Board of internal revenue who collects revenue for them. You can also ask NIWA.
As for the N1 Million paid to Ocha Brigade, that is mere propaganda and lies. If they have any evidence of such payment We will jail any such staff. And if they are lying we will prosecute those with false information.
For clarity, we only impounded 11 tippers parked at Onitsha now."
##
0 Comments