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COVID-19: ‘commercial motorists not complying with safety protocols’

Some commuters in Ibadan metropolis have alleged that many drivers do not comply with COVID-19 safety protocols. They stated this in separate interviews in Ibadan…

Some commuters in Ibadan metropolis have alleged that many drivers do not comply with COVID-19 safety protocols.

They stated this in separate interviews in Ibadan on Thursday.

This was coming weeks after the Oyo State Government Containment Team held stakeholders meeting with the leaders of commercial drivers in the state to adhere to the protocol.

But commuters insist that commercial drivers are carrying two passengers in the front seat and three passengers at the back seat of a cab without observing social distancing measures.

Mr. Ayoola Ali, a passenger said that for a slight hike in transport fare, “commercial drivers do not adhere to safety protocols and most passengers seem not to care.

“We just leave things to God’s hand because people are not talking with the drivers even when the vehicle is overloaded.

“We allow the drivers to do as they have always been doing when there was no COVID-19 pandemic”.

Mrs. Grace Afonja, another commuter, said that most commercial vehicle drivers in Oyo State would not observe COVID-19 guidelines.

Mr. Femi Olaleye said that since drivers had decided not to follow the guidelines for safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, he had chosen to move by commercial motorcycles.

“I sit alone on the motorcycle because commercial drivers don’t obey COVID-19 guidelines in Oyo State,” he said.

A driver plying a route in Ibadan metropolis, Mr. Lamidi Oladosu, however, said that most drivers were not adequately informed about the safety protocols.

He noted that apart from wearing face masks, which many of them could seldom wear, other measures, such as social distancing, seemed not important to some drivers.

He observed that the reason for their action was obvious because passengers would not want to pay for vacant seats used for social distancing in vehicles in spite of the cost of petrol.

The Oyo State Chairman of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Kehinde Adeyemo, also said that although some parks in the state were not controlled by the union, the union had been able to enforce compliance with the COVID-19 pandemic safety protocol.

Irrespective of this, the Oyo State Government insists that it has started community reporting that will name and shame violators of COVID-19 guidelines through the use of Geographical Information System. (NAN)

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