Onyekachukwu Ibezim, the Deputy Governor of Anambra, on Saturday confronted soldiers for erecting road blocks on some major roads in the state and causing gridlock for motorists.

Mr Ibezim, who was on statewide traffic control, said it was not acceptable to the government that the motoring public would spend long time and burn petrol on traffic because of artificial gridlock caused by soldiers.

He said the security personnel could still do their jobs without necessarily causing undue hardship on the people.

At Amansea, near the border with Enugu State on the one lane expressway, Mr Ibezim wondered while soldiers at Stanel filling station and shortly after Nnamdi Azikiwe University gate would retain the disused tyres and sand bags which they used to barricade the road after he asked them to dismantle them.

Talking to the soldiers, he said, “I came here in the morning to warn you about this but you are still blocking the traffic; we must be sane in this country.

“I pulled out as a director in the Ministry of Defense, this is not what the Army stands for.

“Allow these people to move, you do not suffer tax payers this way,” he said.

Mr Ibezim called on road users, motorists and pedestrians to cooperate with traffic management agencies to ensure free flow of traffic within the state.

According to him, available roads should be free to users, everybody should abide by the rules.

“At Amawbia bye pass, I saw heavy traffic but when I alighted to find out what was going on, it happened that a youth stood in the middle of the road, waving party flag while the traffic stood still.

“I had to order him out to be arrested.Surprisingly, they said I was threatening to arrest an opposition party faithful. But we won’t succumb to such cheap blackmail. Our roads must be free of all obstructions,” he said.

(NAN)