No going back on Okada ban - Nigerian governor

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, yesterday, vowed not to reverse the ban on commercial motorcycles popularly known as “Okada” and tricycles, called Keke NAPEP, in some parts of the state.

Sanwo-Olu, said this at the launch of eight locally manufactured speed boats of the state ferry services, Lagferry, held at Badore Ferry Terminal, Ajah.

The governor, who also launched Lagferry, operations mobile app, explained that the decision on the ban was for safety reasons. He said: “Let me tell you about the ban which we just enforced. We will sustain the ban on Okada and tricycles, mainly because of security and safety reasons. The security and safety of citizens are paramount to any government. As a responsible government, we will not fold our arms and allow any security breach in the state.

“We will continue to ensure the safety of our people on all fronts. There have been reports of serious security breaches and safety concerns in areas where these operators ply. We had to respond to these concerns because of life and safety matters to this government.”

Sanwo-Olu assured that before the end of the year the ferry boats would be increased to 30, adding that more than 500 buses would be injected into the state bus transport system to ease transportation problems. He said: “The narrative of transportation in Lagos is about to change for good, as we are set to take advantage of the water bodies to decongest our roads and substantially reduce travel time for commuters.”

Osun suspends registration of Okada riders Meanwhile, the Osun State Government, yesterday, ordered the Department of Transportation to stop fresh registration of commercial motorcycles popularly known as Okada to curb invasion from neighbouring states.

In a statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Toke Olaniyan stated that the move was to check incursion of commercial motorcyclists from Lagos state as a result of restriction placed on the trade in some local government areas of the state.

Olaniyan said the state government is in talks with ACCOMORAN and other stakeholders involved in intracity transportation to ensure adequate scrutiny of commercial motorcyclists to check insecurity in the state.

The statement reads in part: “We are in constant touch with ACOMORAN and other associations concerned with intra-city transportation in the state to ensure proper scrutiny of all operators to provide adequate measures for security and safety of residents.”