Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, said the State had zero tolerance for miscreants, touts, and criminals.
The governor, who said that security, law, and order were the priorities of his State, made this declaration after he met with Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential villa, Abuja.
Over 600 persons said to be touts were arrested in different parts of Onitsha and environs of Anambra State in one week.
In furtherance of the war against touting, the governor recently launched an anti-tout squad known as the State Anti-Touting Squad (SASA).
The arrested touts were picked in different parts of the state barely one week after the inauguration of the squad.
Speaking to State House Correspondents, Soludo warned miscreants, criminals, and touts involved in extorting and expropriating innocent citizens through illegal revenue collection to desist or face full wrath of the law.
He said: “Anambra is calm, very calm, and I can tell you it should be certainly one of the top three in terms of safety of life and property.
“Security, law, and order is our priority. We don’t condone touting. All these people collecting illegal revenue and trying to extort and expropriate from people innocently will be kicked out.”
Soludo stressed that Anambra is a home of commerce and that the government will not condone harassment of citizens by tout.
He said that his administration was ready to train those interested in skills acquisition and will also provide start-up funds for their take-off.
He stated: “Anambra is a state home of commerce, and we don’t want people harassing others who come in, and we have zero tolerance for that kind of miscreants. We have a message for them, if you need a job, just come out. we give you training, and we have some start-up funds for you to begin afresh and take a new life.
“But if you choose to expropriate from others innocently, then we have no room for that in Anambra state. So if you are a tout go else, but if you are productive engagement, that’s Anambra. It is a home of enterprise, not a home for lazy people who want to get something from nothing.”
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