TEXT OF A PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE ENUGU STATE COMMISSIONER FOR TRANSPORT, HON. OBI OZOR, ON COMPLAINTS OVER THE NEW E-PAYMENT SERVICE, AT THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT HEADQUARTERS, ENUGU, SEPTEMBER 19, 2023
Gentlemen of the press
A very good afternoon to you
I sit before you today to address the complaints of Ndi Enugu over our new e-payment service.
First and foremost, our commitment to Ndi Enugu remains unwavering, and we understand the importance of addressing urgent issues such as this as they emerge.
We appreciate the feedback from motorists and members of the general public regarding our transport e-ticketing (e-payment) service. Your concerns matter to us, and we are committed to addressing them promptly to enhance your transport experience.
Objectives of the E-ticketing
The e-ticketing solution was introduced to:
- Consolidate and streamline the process of revenue collection from daily tolls in order to eliminate multiple taxation
- Promote the ease of doing business for transporters and Ndi Enugu through the elimination of thuggery and transporters harassments.
- Grow the State’s IGR by blocking leakages through the elimination of paper tickets.
Our Results so Far
In the past two weeks, we have seen the tremendous progress that could be made with the full adoption of the e-ticketing solution.
- The transport daily toll IGR has grown by 300%
- It has promoted digitization by replacing paper and encouraging environmental sustainability with the use of simple day to day technology tools such as SMS, USSD code and mobile apps. This in the long run we believe will begin to shape the mindset of our youths, the way we think, communicate, work, and interact with the world around us.
- It has also provided legitimate job opportunities for many youths by opening up the system to more agents, more ticketers and a more focused monitoring team.
Challenges
We understand the frustrations you’ve faced, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. Rest assured, we are actively working on improving the ticketing system to make it more efficient and user-friendly.
Some of the challenges we have identified include:
- Full alignment of transport unions with the e-ticketing system
- Some ticketers are still selling the paper tickets alongside the e-tickets while some are taking advantage to overcharge transporters for the e-tickets
- We have also received complaints of some monitoring teams enforcing the e-tickets on “Private Vehicles” as well as queues in certain locations to purchase the e-ticket
Our team is already investigating the reported issues, and we encourage you to share more details via our contact details below. This will assist us in resolving your specific concerns and ensuring a smoother e-ticketing process for all travel operators.
Also, here are some of the critical reforms our Ministry has introduced to address some of these issues:
- We have engaged and are still engaging all the unions to get them to understand that Enugu State is not going back on e-ticket, while educating them on how this solution can reduce their operating expenses and grow their profit.
- We are working with the law enforcement agencies and the monitoring teams across the State to identify anyone still found selling the paper tickets. We appeal to them to desist from such acts and focus on supporting the great policies of our Governor, H.E. Dr. Peter Mbah.
- We are expanding our publicity and advocacy initiatives to further educate drivers/transporters about the benefits of e-ticketing and the prices during this adoption phase. Our field officers are visiting every location to observe and resolve issues. We are also initiating a weekly radio and TV programme to field questions from our beloved Ndi Enugu.
- We are also onboarding more agents and ticketers on the system to expand coverage and eliminate the queues. We encourage our people to be part of the solution building by applying for a job via the contact details below.
- The e-ticket is sold strictly to every vehicle used for commercial purposes and Ndi Enugu can also confirm their tickets and even the monitoring teams by dialing 8011042#; you do not need internet/data to buy or confirm your e-ticket. The State Government has used a very innovative technology to ensure the product is suited for our unique environment. We also encourage young techies to apply to help scale this technology that is one of its kind across Africa.
- For the next one week (from 19th September 2023 to 24th September 2023), enforcement shall commence from 12:30 pm to give adequate time for drivers to purchase their tickets.
The Ministry of Transport and all its departments, including ESTMA staff, have undergone the necessary sensitization training designed to inform and educate all staff about the ongoing reforms, including the ban on revenue collection by any Ministry enforcement official.
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the Ministry has deployed various ongoing processes and activities to eliminate harassment or extortion of the citizens, as alleged, such as the introduction of the digitized database and electronic human resource tracking system of the ESTMA staff and the road transportation task forces. We have created special intelligence monitoring of illegal task forces and illegal revenue collection agents.
Let me also seize this opportunity to talk about other initiatives of the State Government through the Ministry of Transport which are targeted to make the lives of Ndi Enugu better.
The Enugu State Government has reimagined passenger manifest across the state for the welfare of commuters in the state. The new Enugu State Ministry of Transport, Manifest Insurance Scheme by His Excellency the Governor is meant to improve the welfare and safety of our people while ensuring that commuters are properly compensated in the case of unfortunate incidents. With this new scheme, commuters are now assured to receive 500% more benefits. We encourage all our people to take advantage of this scheme and ask all the transport companies to comply to keep our people safe.
We encourage our people to ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy and properly fixed for their own protection and that of other motorists in the state. The Ministry of Transport has given grace period for this and would start monitoring compliance in the next one week. Vehicle owners are encouraged to reach out to the Ministry for any form of assistance.
ESTMA now has a new leadership (new Commander), who has been charged with the responsibility of ensuring compliance and safety of Ndi Enugu. They are calling on the masses (Ndi Enugu) to channel any complaints, such as bullying, extortion, intimidation of any kind to the dedicated WhatsApp number with evidence, and any staff found complicit will be disciplined accordingly.
The Ministry is working in close collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Commission to ensure the safety of our road users and commuters. We will educate the general public more in the coming weeks on some of the key reforms from this partnership.
We are calling on seasoned and prominent Ndi Enugu (senior people who have served in government) with experience in transport, logistics and safety to volunteer to be our eyes in the field to help us checkmate the excesses of our field staff. We intend to have monthly sessions with them where we would address the challenges of our people.
Your feedback is invaluable in our ongoing efforts to enhance our services. We are dedicated to providing Ndi Enugu with a seamless and hassle-free travel experience, and your input is vital in achieving this goal.
Once again, thanks for bringing these matters to our attention. We appreciate your support and patience as we continue to resolve the issues. We will also continue to keep you informed of our progress.
Signed:
Obi Ozor
Honourable Commissioner
Contact: 07040244023 | 08073888511 | transport@enugustate.gov.ng
