Ekiti State Governor reacts to proposed nationwide ban on okadas

Governor Ayodele Fayose has weighed in on the proposed nationwide ban on commercial motorcycles, popularly known as

In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka on February 19, 2017, he said the ban would only worsen things, Punch reports.

Fayose also assured the riders of his support, adding that the ban would not affect them.

In his words, “In Ekiti State, we won’t ban okada because it is a source of livelihood for a lot of families. Why would anyone even contemplate such when government did not create alternative jobs?

With this economic recession that is biting so hard, it is heartless of the Federal Government to even think of sending okada riders out of business, instead of putting machinery in motion towards checking their excesses.

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-month existence of this All Progressives Congress 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 motorcycling is a major cause of fatal road accidents across the country as posited by the Federal Government, should proposing a 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?"

ALSO READ: 'Ban Okadas from major streets' - Lagos state residents tell state government

Fayose is not the first person to react negatively to the ban.

Just like the governor, commercial motorcyclists in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are also against the ban as it would take away their means of livelihood, The Guardian reports.

One okada rider, Abdullahi Dogo, said: “Government should remember that the rate of unemployment is high and banning commercial motorcycles means millions will join the league of the unemployed."

Another rider, Yakubu Usman, said the same things.

“I don’t know how government expects us to feed if they take away our means of livelihood.

“Many people in this business are unemployed and government workers who don’t get paid regularly.

“This job is the only means through which they provide for their families after work and it is no use taking away their only source of income,’’ he told NAN.

The proposed ban is as a result of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) blaming most road crashes on okadas.

What do you think?