Unregistered commercial motorcycle operators in Oyo,henceforth risk arrest and prosecution, the state government has said
The registration,which is aimed at curbing insecurity and controlling the massive influx of commercial motorcycle riders, include biometric data capturing for all operators, and their owners in the state.
Executive Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde on Administration and General Services , Rev Idowu Ogedengbe, disclosed this while featuring on the interview platform, known as Guests’ Forum, of the Oyo State Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ),in Ibadan.
Over 5,000 commercial motorcycle motorcycle operators have been captured into the database of the state, he said .
He said:”The registration followed the ban of many okada riders in Lagos State and the influx of the displaced commercial motorcyclists to the state, coupled with the fact that the state police command has paraded on different occasions, some okada riders, using the means of transportation to commit crime”.
He warned that any commercial motorcycle rider that failed to register, would face the wrath of the law as the Oyo State Road Transport Management Authority (OYRTMA) has been directed to apprehend those that have refused to register.
According to him,the registration would assist the government to track down those that may be using the means of transportation to commit criminal offences.
He added:”The Ministry of Works and Public Transport is working in consonance with the Management Information Centre of the Oyo State Government to embark on a programme of registering and regulating all okada riders in Oyo State. If you are using your Okada for commercial business, we want to have your details in our database. We will capture the chasis and number of that okada. We will get the phone number and pictures of that Okada owner, and even that of the rider.
“If any of them commits any offence or crime, we will be able to track them down. We are also concluding plans to kit them up with jackets. We have already given out the first contract and a total of 5,000 okada riders are already captured on that database.
“According to our governor, we are a government that depends on data, science and logic. We don’t just want to take a decision without first critically examining it, looking at it empirically. We all know that okada business is a means of livelihood for some of our people. If we ban it outright, it will affect a lot of household income.
“What we want to achieve with this is to reduce the security threat that those people riding on motorcycles could bring upon our state. We don’t want to do it in a way that we will impinge on the rights of any law abiding okada rider, going about with his means of livelihood.
“So, if you are coming to Oyo State and you don’t have our registration, it is an immediate pointer that OYRTMA will spot you and arrest you because they would have known that you are not meant to be here. With that, before you even commit the crime, we have arrested you. We are going to pursue that aggressively.”
He also dismissed the speculation that the state is financially insolvent, though has funding challenges because the administration has many projects to attend to at the same time.
