Employees of the Rivers State Transport Company have called on Governor Siminalayi Fubara to come to their rescue by reopening the state-owned firm that was shut down by his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.
The RTC Park Manager, Ben Barike, made this call during an interview with a popular radio station, The Beat 99.9 FM, Port Harcourt, and monitored by our correspondent.
Barike said seven of their colleagues had died between 2020 and 2023 and called on the state government to reopen the firm.
Recall that the transport firm popularly known as RTC had remained closed throughout the second tenure of the immediate past governor with the state government alleging financial recklessness.
But Barike, while speaking on the 100 days of the incumbent governor, congratulated the state chief executive and pleaded with him to reopen the company.
He further said several workers of the moribund firm, most of whom were indigenes of the state, were experiencing untold hardship due to the closure by his predecessor over five years ago.
He stated, “For three years, six months, indigenes of Rivers State have been stagnated by the closure of this place, and it is not a palatable record before him. So, we said he (the governor) should swing into action by alleviating the hardship we are facing.
“We heard that he had paid teachers; we heard pensioners are now heaving a sigh of relief under his administration, and so, we, the indigenes of Rivers State, that constitute the staff strength of Rivers Transport Company should smile alongside others by way of opening the company, injecting more vehicles into the scheme and controlling the company for it to be afloat.
“It will be recalled that seven of our staff died as a result of this, and those of us alive are being pursued from one place to the other.”
