Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) Governors’ Forum, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described plan by the
federal government to ban commercial motorcycle, popularly known as
Okada in the country as wicked, saying; “In Ekiti State, we won’t ban
Okada because it is a source of livelihood to a lot of families. Why
would anyone even contemplate such when government did not creat
alternative employments?”
He said; “With this economic recession that is biting so hard, it is
sheer heartlessness for the federal government to even think of
sending Okada riders out of business instead of putting machineries in
motion to check their excesses.”
According to a statement issued on Sunday, by his Special Assistant on
Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose,
who was addressing Okada riders that accosted him in Ikere Ekiti, on
his way from Abuja on Saturday, said “ban on Okada will worsen the
country’s security situation because it will remove foods from the
table of so many people.”
The governor, who promised Okada riders in Ekiti State his continued
support and assistance, said; “The federal government has no power to
ban Okada in my State and under my watch, no one will prevent Okada
Riders from operating as long as they do not go against the laws.”
Governor Fayose said; “The hunger in the land is killing and most of
these Okada riders are graduates who have taken to commercial
motorcycling to survive because of unemployment. Many of them are even
those who lost their jobs within the 21 months of this All
Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government and government
workers, whose salaries are not being paid regularly. How does the
federal government expect them to feed if their means of livelihood is
taken away?
“If commercial motorcyclist is a major cause of fatal road traffic
accidents across the country, as posited by the federal government,
should proposing their ban be an option?
“Should we also say motor vehicles, especially heavy duty vehicles
should be banned from plying our roads because they also cause
accidents?
“Methinks the federal government should be concerned with the rate of
unemployment in the country and the deplorable state of our roads,
especially federal roads, instead of seeking to deprive Nigerians, who
have taken to riding Okada to save themselves and their families from
dying of hunger.”
