Okada Operators Appeal To FG Against Ban

By Victor Ernest With Agency Report

Commercial motorcyclists in the Federal Capital Territory on Friday appealed to the Federal Government not to ban their operations across the country.

Some of the operators told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that a nationwide ban on commercial motorcyclists would amount to taking away their means of livelihood.

This appeal is coming as a result of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) advice to the federal government to ban commercial motorcycles, popularly known as okada, in order to curb road accidents.t

The commercial motorcyclists told NAN in Abuja they were not the major cause of crashes on the highways.

Yakubu Usman, an okada rider, said that the proposed ban would adversely affect ease movement of commuters in the country.

According to Usman, many graduates and government workers who are not paid regularly engage in commercial motorcycling as an alternative source of income.

Another operator, Abdullahi Dogo, said the government should provide alternative means of transport for local commuters and create more jobs for millions of Nigerians that would become jobless.

He also said that the ban would lead to increase in the crime rate in the country.

Another respondent, David Ocholi, said that the poor condition of roads was responsible for crashes and not the commercial motorcyclists.

He called on the federal government to fix the bad portions on the highways in order to reduce the rate of accidents in the country.