Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has banned Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) from conducting roadside enforcement across the state, restricting their activities to office-based duties following complaints from transport operators over alleged harassment and excessive penalties.
The directive was announced on Saturday in Calabar after a meeting between the governor and key transport stakeholders. The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Linus Obogo.
According to the statement, the decision was taken in response to persistent complaints by commercial bus and tricycle operators who accused enforcement teams of harassing motorists, issuing excessive fines and imposing inflated penalties during roadside operations.
Under the new directive, VIO personnel will no longer carry out roadside checks. Instead, their responsibilities will be limited to administrative functions, while other transport regulatory bodies are expected to operate strictly within their statutory mandates.
As part of broader reforms in the transport sector, the state government approved a reduction in the daily transport ticket fee for commercial buses from N850 to N500. The penalty for failing to purchase the ticket has also been reduced to N10,000, while all traffic-related fines have been cut by 50 per cent. Authorities said such fines must be paid only into designated government accounts to eliminate illegal collections.
The government also reduced the daily ticket fee for tricycle operators from N1,200 to N500. In addition, tricycle operations will now end at 6 p.m., effectively prohibiting night-time operations.
Commercial bus and tricycle operators will also be exempt from purchasing daily tickets on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, a measure the government said is intended to provide financial relief for operators.
Governor Otu said the reforms are designed to restore order in the state’s transport system while easing the financial burden on drivers.
He explained that the Commercial Transport Regulatory Agency (CTRA) will now focus on vehicle registration and approved ticket sales, while enforcement officers are required to operate only in proper uniforms with verifiable identification.
The Traffic Management and Regulatory Agency (TRAMRA) has also been directed to limit its activities strictly to traffic management.
The new directives are scheduled to take effect from March 9, 2026, with the governor urging residents and transport operators to cooperate with the relevant authorities to ensure smooth implementation.
Despite the announcement, some transport operators have expressed concerns that the measures may not fully address enforcement challenges. A commercial driver, Johnson Ade, suggested that the government should publish an official list of traffic violations and corresponding fines to reduce confusion and prevent impersonation by unauthorized officials.
“Reducing fines by 50 per cent is too general. Specific amounts for each offence should be clearly defined,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Chairman of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Sunday Dennis, said the union would convene an emergency meeting to review the governor’s directives and assess their implications for transport operators in the state.
