The Minister of State for Transportation, Ademola Adegoroye, says the Federal Government has not taken any decision to ban the operation of motorcycle riders (okada).
He said this in Abuja Thursday at the annual strategic stakeholders’ summit of the Amalgamated Commercial Tricycle & Motorcycle Owners, Repairs & Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN).
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The Attorney-General the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had, after the National Security Council meeting held in July, disclosed that the government was, in the national interest, considering banning okada and mining activities to cut the supply of logistics to the terrorists.
But Adegoroye yesterday said: “By the grace of God, I’ve been a member of the Federal Executive Council…Let me assure you and assure ACOMORAN that there’s no decision to ban Okada.”
A former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who chaired the event, warned that banning okada without providing jobs for those who would be affected would fuel crime in the country.
He said, “What you see in Nigeria is a chaotic transportation system when it comes to land transport.”
He advised okada operators to regulate their activities.
Kebbi State Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu described okada operators as important contributors to the transport sector and the rural economy.
“In some rural communities, they’re the major source of transport both for goods and people and in urban centers where they’re competing with other forms of transport, particularly motor vehicles, they need to be more organised,” he said.
President, ACOMORAN, Samsudeen Adebayo Apelogun, appealed to the government to provide alternatives before enforcing the ban.
