Anambra govt vows to end ‘agberos’

The Anambra State government has stepped up enforcement against touts, also known as ‘agberos’ across the state.

In a statement issued on Friday, the commissioner for information, Paul Nwosu, claimed that during a recent operation conducted by a specialised unit of the OCHA Brigade in the state’s Upper Iweka and Obosi districts, 25 touts were detained.

Nwosu claimed that the state government had reiterated time and time again that agberos had been outlawed in the state because they did not offer a sustainable source of income and they promoted antisocial behaviour that was incompatible with a new, enjoyable way of life in Anambra.

He said, “Government had offered to provide agberos with employment but they must, first of all, go and register their names and phone numbers with their respective local governments.

“The OCHA Brigade Commander disclosed that his men will ramp up their enforcement in days ahead since these touts have refused to accept the olive branch extended to them by the government.”

In 2022, the Anambra State Government announced the ban on tricycle and shuttle bus unions in the state. It also sacked touts from motor parks in the state.

This followed the seemingly unresolved disagreement between the state government and transport unions over the revenue collection system, a situation that made the transport operators embark on strike last week.

But Nwosu, in the statement, said security reports indicated that those masquerading under the names of such unions orchestrate breakdown of law and order in the state.

The state government asked all the motor park touts to proceed to register in their various localities for government-sponsored training and life-supporting skills.