Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has warned operators of motorcycles popularly called Okada and Tricycles also known as Keke NAPEP to guide against the use of the means of easy transport for criminal activities.
The minister also warned that measures are already being put in place to check such criminal activities.
Amaechi also asked the leadership of the Amalgamated Commercial Tricycles and Motorcycle Owners, Repairs and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) to check the infiltration of its rank by criminal elements across the country who pose security risk to Nigerians.
Represented by the Mrs. Anthonia Ekpa, a director in the Ministry of transport at the inauguration of the new leadership of the association in Abuja, the Minister also asked the association to embark on the training and rebranding of its members in line with international best practices.
Amaechi said that aside the many road infractions often committed by members of the association, its ranks were being infiltrated daily by questionable persons who pose security threats across the country, adding that regulations are underway to check this recurring decimal.
He disclosed that the ministry was working to ensure reduction in the cost of operation through the introduction of solar powered tricycles, saying “you will have to ensure that your member operate within the laws of the land and within international best practices, such as it is obtainable in other parts of the world.
“The ministry is also worried that some miscreants will use tricycles and motorcycles, posing as members of this very reputable organization to cause havoc and security challenges across the country. This is why we want to extract a commitment from the new president that your members will work with the ministry to be retrained and rebrand like our counterparts in other countries.”
In his remarks, Chairman Senate committee on Land transport, Senator Olugbenga Ashafa tasked operators to be law abiding, placing safety above all else and sticking to designated routes, while commending members of the association for voting enmass for President Muhammadu Buhari in the just concluded elections.
