The Senator Abiola Ajimobi-led government in Oyo State has said that commercial motorcycles and tricycles in the state would be registered to control crime rate and ensure sanity on the roads in order to secure lives and properties.
This was disclosed at the weekend by the State Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr. Wasiu Dauda during a stakeholder’s meeting held with members of the unions at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat Ibadan.
Dauda explained that the process was necessitated as a result of the need to incorporate commercial motorcyclists and tricyclists into a single data base for proper identification of each member of the union, noting that this will prevent hoodlums from using the operators for robbery, kidnapping and other vices that are rampant in the society.
“This registration will eradicate impersonation of members, provide opportunities to benefit from government social services and encourage special recognition of outstanding individuals of the unions,” he stressed.
In his own remarks, the Chairman, Oyo State Road Traffic Management Agency (OYRTMA) Colonel Tayo Ishola (rtd) emphasized that the data base will promote safety on the roads and consequently urged members of the unions to obey traffic laws in order to reduce road accident to the barest minimum.
Speaking, the Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Internal Generated Revenue, Mr. Biyi Oloko, who was represented by Mr. Belly Adetokunbo, reiterated that the State Government never appointed any officer to collect illegal dues through ticketing, warning that any individual caught sabotaging the government revenue drive would be dealt with in accordance with the provision of the laws.
Oloko, however, charged members of the union to join hands with the government by paying their taxes and necessary dues to government’s coffers, adding that this would complement the efforts of the State government towards infrastructural development.
Reacting, the representatives of the National Union of Road and Transport Workers (Motorcycle Unit) and Tricycles Owners Association of Nigeria, Comrades Aderemi Ayoade and Musbau Adeyemi respectively pledged their cooperation with the government and called for friendly government policy to make life better and meaningful for them.
Packaged by Oyedapo Oyewole
