Some officers of the Anambra State Traffic Management Agency have been handed a two-month suspension without pay after a video of them singing a campaign song for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) went viral.
The sanction was announced by the agency’s management on Tuesday, following days of public debate over the footage.
In the clip, which circulated widely on social media, the uniformed officers were seen and heard singing in support of the NDC presidential ticket of Mr Peter Obi and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. The song was directed at a motorist while they were on duty.
The incident happened at Nwagu Agulu Junction, one of the busy intersections where the officers had been posted for traffic control.
Sources in the agency said the officers were first invited to the headquarters in Awka to explain themselves before the disciplinary decision was taken.
Management reportedly viewed their action as a breach of the code of conduct for public officers, who are expected to remain neutral and non-partisan while in uniform and on duty, especially in an election season.
The punishment has left the affected officers distressed. According to sources close to them, some have been moving from one influential person to another, pleading for intervention and for the agency to temper justice with mercy.
Their relatives have also raised concern over the hardship the no-pay suspension could cause. They said the officers are the breadwinners of their families and have appealed to well-meaning members of the public to help them find temporary means of livelihood until the suspension lapses.
The development comes at a politically sensitive time in Anambra.
Just last week, the NDC inaugurated its Anambra State Presidential Campaign Council in Awka to mobilise grassroots support for Obi and Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 general election. The party has been intensifying house-to-house mobilisation across the state’s 21 local government areas.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra, remains a hugely popular figure in the South East, and his name has featured in several viral political moments in recent days, including crowd chants at a cultural event in Abia State.
For the traffic agency, however, the issue is not about the popularity of any candidate, but about discipline in uniform.
The agency, also known as ARTMA, has in the past suspended officers for misconduct on duty, including a 2024 case where three female officers were suspended after they were filmed fighting a police traffic officer at Aroma Junction, Awka.
Officials of the agency have repeatedly said its officers must uphold professionalism, respect motorists, and avoid any conduct that brings the agency and the state government into disrepute.
The matter has, however, reopened the wider debate in Anambra: where should the line be drawn between a public officer’s personal political belief and his duty to remain neutral while wearing the uniform of the state?
Source/Razor
