By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has directed the Anambra Traffic Management Agency (ATMA) to deploy their officers in 20 most difficult high traffic points in the state, to help ease the increasing traffic gridlock in the state.

He said that to aid effectiveness, ATMA officers should undergo trainings by LASTMA, Federal Road Safety Corp, and the Army, as well as recruit more people into the Agency, for increased capacity and efficiency.

Briefing journalists during the post-Anambra State Executive Council meeting held at the Government House, Awka, the Commissioner for Information, Sir Paul Nwosu, said that the new road traffic management measures introduced in the state was to ensure that Ndi Anambra do not spend more than twenty minutes in traffic.

He noted that the State Fire Service would be restructured to become more responsive and effective, emphasising that it would be decentralised and brought closer to the people.

He revealed that the era of using phone calls in time of emergency has been phased out, while the Anambra State emergency fire response application has been activated.

According to him, the Commissioner for Local government has been directed to identify areas in the communities that could be used as bus stops, adding that approval has been given for all the traffic lights to be serviced.

The Commissioner said: “Among other issues discussed at the meeting were adoption of the name; Anambra State Executive Council as against Executive Council, adoption of a policy to introduce urban agriculture to increase food production in Anambra State where every household should deploy spaces in their domain to plant crops, transition from inorganic farming to regenerative agriculture to improve quality of agricultural products.

“Other items discussed include the ongoing rehabilitation work on Anambra roads, revision of laws setting up government parastatals and agencies by the State Attorney General, approval for annual procurement of one million palm seedlings, five hundred coconut seedlings as a way of trying to relive the old M.I. Okpara days when palm oil was the mainstay of the Eastern region’s economy.”

Present at the briefing was the Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Christian Aburime.