Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has described as wicked the moves by the Federal Government to ban commercial motorcycles, popularly known as okada.The Federal Road Safety Commission recently called for a nationwide ban of okada, saying they were responsible for the high rate of accidents in the country.
But the governor, who is the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, said he would not ban okada in the state.
“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.”
Fayose had while appearing on a live programme on Ekiti Television and Radio Stations said there were 14,000 okada riders in the state most of whom were graduates.