The Bauchi State Road Traffic Agency (BAROTA) has vowed that the government will not rescind its decision on the ban placed on commercial motorcycles in the State.
This is coming on the heels of a recent plea and reactions of the state commercial Motorcycle and Tricycle Riders Association that time is ripe for the state government to revisit the ban decision.
The Bauchi government had last year banned the activities of okada to curb the worsening insecurity in the country. It cited Covid-19 as one of the reasons.
Chairman of the Association, Abdullahi Mohammed Nabayi had told WikkiTimes that the ban on okada was a good one but currently biting harder on their members, appealing with the government to revisit.
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He said: “I think the government should please change their mind on this ban because our members are suffering more. Many of us rely on these businesses to feed our families and being adamant is not really a good one for us,” he said.
While reacting, Comptroller General of BAROTA, Ahmed Baba Gamawa said that the government was not yielding to that plea for obvious reasons.
According to him the ban on achaba remains, “what people should understand is that the Bauchi State Government have the interest of the general public at heart,
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“This peace we are enjoying today in Bauchi State, do you think it is in vain; something has happened. These bikes you are seeing are used to perpetrate many crimes, some arms find their way into the state through this means; they will put sophisticated weapons on motorcycle seats and bring them in without anybody knowing,” he said.
The BAROTA boss explained that the ban serves as a subtle check on the kind of elements from far and neighbouring states who leverage on okada riding to illegally move into the country to magnify all sorts of crimes.
“Let me tell you the ban on commercial motorcycles has in a way blocked the opening of the influx of different kinds of people into our states. Many of them come From Zamfara, Sokoto, Gombe, Plateau, and other neighbouring states in the name of Achaba and they end up terrorising the area.
“Our Governor is working tirelessly to sustain the current peace we are enjoying and we won’t listen to anybody on any appeal that has the tendency of affecting the status quo as we have perceived,” he insists.
Baba Gamawa added that part of what the government is doing through the agency to drive crime free state is relocation of illegal motor parks warning that anyone that boards a car outside designated government park does that at his or her own risk.
