The National Conscience Party (NCP), Lagos State chapter, has described as unfair the impounding of commercial vehicles, popularly called okada, by officials of the state’s task force, describing the action as draconian and anti-masses.
Mr. Fatai Ibu-Owo and Mr. Sonaike Sakiru Sowunmi, Lagos NCP Chairman and Publicity and Publication Director, respectively, in a statement made available to NEXT EDITION on Monday, said the trend had become rampant since Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration took over the reins of governance in the state.
The party maintained that draconian and anti-masses policies had become the hallmark of the All Progressives Congress (APC), not only in Lagos, but across the nation, saying it was totally unfair and ill-timed to impound commercial motorcycles, the only means of livelihood of the riders, considering the hardship being faced by the common man in the state presently.
Lagos NCP stressed that most of the riders, who it said, were graduates, took to the vocation to eke out a living due to the high level of unemployment and government’s insensitivity to the plight of citizens.
The party added that the riders had been complying with the state’s laws, stressing that the collapse of public intra-city transport system in the state paved way for the rise of motorcycles as means of public transportation, adding that it had become the most reliable means of public transportation in every nook and cranny of Lagos State, thereby impacting significantly on the economy and society.
It maintained that instead of hounding the okada riders, the government should appreciate their complementary roles to ease public transportation for the multitude of Lagosians who patronise the okada operators.
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The party said: “Government should be blamed for not living up to its responsibilities because of its failure to fix numerous bad roads which are obstacles to smooth flow of traffic within the megacity region.
“The outright ban of okada riders is not an option. The state government should opt for a way to bringing sanity to our roads while not neglecting the fact that the insecurity may surge if they are banned.
“Meanwhile, if the O’Pay riders are being allowed to ply the federal and state roads, what is wrong in allowing ordinary okada riders to do the same? What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. Many of the new operators cite joblessness, tough economic environment, among others, as reasons for taking to commercial motorcycle business.”
It called on the state government to look for proper means of regulating the activities of the okada operators and ensuring that they operate like the elite O’Pay, Gokada, Maxokada and others, so it could enforce the laws and generate revenues as they only pay various dues to their unions, which hardly get to government’s purse.
“Another alternative solution is for government to liaise with O’Pay management and others to take over all the impounded okada and rebrand them to meet O’Pay standard and return them to their various owners, thereby the operators will pay for the refurbishing and branding charges on installment to the management,” it added.
