By Onyinyechi Nwankwo
Following an exemplary act of integrity displayed by the Imo State National Union of Road Transport Workers ,NURTW led by its Chairman, Hon. Samuel Udeh, (Ezeumuokorobia) the union has received widespread commendations across the state.
The NURTW Boss, in a heartfelt gesture handed over a substantial sum of money left behind by a passenger in one of their parks within Owerri Municipality to Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma at the State Police Headquaters in Owerri, on Tuesday.
Handing over the passenger’s forgotten funds in the presence of Newsmen, others, Udeh narrated that when he was notified about the money, which had been left on a bus operated by a union member, he deemed it fit to bring it to the notice of the CP, as they have waited in vain for the owner to come for it.
Hon. Udeh stated, he believes that integrity is the cornerstone of any successful organization and that returning the money was a decision rooted in the new values of integrity, commitment to service, birthed by the reformation of Imo NURTW in his administration.
According to him ” one of my unit Chairmen brought this huge amount of money to me that a passenger forgot it in one of our vehicles, and as we cannot keep the money with us, we deemed it necessary to bring it to the police for proper identification by the rightful owner, so we don’t give it to the wrong person.
“Before now, people used to call us “agberos”, but, as I took over the union as State Chairman, I can boldly say that the union is now well organized, reformed and we are now disciplined.
“This action will go a long way to testify that the union is transformed, and should be recognized and treated as professionals because we help to drive the nation’s economy.
“The general public should be informed about the lost money ,so, the rightful owner could come; pick it from the office of the CP, Imo State Command” Udeh noted.
Praising the Chairman and union’s actions as a model of honesty and transparency, the CP, Danjuma affirmed that such integrity act should not go unrecognised adding that the driver who found the money deserves a national award.
In his words,” for the union through its Chairman to bring lost money found in one of their vehicles to the police, to help reach the rightful owner, is what we call public trust, and transparency, which calls for national honour on the part of the driver that found it.
“This money will be kept in our custody, while an announcement regarding the money will be put across the media platforms for the owner to come for claim. If after some time and the money wasn’t claimed, it will be paid into federal government account with the teller deposited in Court”. Danjuma informed.
This particular move has since then, attracted much praise to Imo NURTW, reinvigorating conversations around transparency and ethics in public service.
