Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi on Monday dismantled a police checkpoint along Port Harcourt/Owerri Road, for causing hardship to motorists.
Amaechi, who was returning from Ohakpu, Orlu in Imo State, was held up in traffic for long due to the activities of policemen at Omagwa Junction near the Port Harcourt International Airport.
Angered by the suffering of motorists and other road users, the governor alighted from his official car, walked to where the roadblock was mounted, and removed the barricades.
While motorists cheered him for coming to their rescue; the governor, went a step further by taking over traffic control at the junction.
The officers and men of the Swift Operation Squad, that had mounted the roadblock watched with unbelief as Amaechi passed the long lines of vehicles that had formed in the area.
For over 30 minutes, the governor sweated under the hot sun, waving at vehicles to pass, advising drivers to be safety conscious and acknowledging greetings from the people.
When traffic on the road became light, the governor drew the attention of the most senior police officers at the checkpoint to the menace they had caused to road users.
He condemned them for allowing the traffic to stretch from the airport junction to Omagwa community, a distance of about two kilometres.
He, however, cautioned that such situations should not be allowed to recur and warned that anyone caught treating fellow Nigerians with levity would be dealt with, according to the law.
He said, “There is no reason for what you people were doing here. Your duty as security operatives is to maintain law and order and not to cause disorderliness.”