Tricycle operators in Yenagoa the Bayelsa state capital is popularly known as Keke Napep have cleared the air over their recent protest.
They said that their protest was as a result of double taxation, yearly renewals of MOT number, intimidation, and harassment from the Ministry of Transport and its agents and not Federal Road Safety Commission and the police.
Speaking to newsmen in yenagoa the welfare chairman of the tricycle operators, Mr. Jonahs Okafor said: “when the state government announced that all tricycle operators should register with the state Ministry of Transport for security reasons, we all compiled and registered with the sum of three thousand naira each and we were given numbers”
“We were surprised when the Special Assistant to the governor Dickson on transport, Hon. Prince Koroye invited us and told us that registration will yearly affairs, after the initial registration, compelling us to pay the sum of two six hundred the following year “.
Comrade Jonah said this year they were asked to pay the sum of two thousand six hundred naira as renewal fee and this has not gone down well with them, hence the protest.
He said that the union has held several meetings with Koroye but he refused to shift his grounds.
” in other states, the registration is done once and wondered why koroye has decided to make his own an annual affairs if the ugly trend is not reserved will withdraw our services”.
Jonahs further debunked the earlier reports on a section of the media that their protest was as a result of harassment and intimidation from the FRSC and the police saying ” our problem starts and end with the ministry of transport and Hon. Prince Konoye.”
He advised the government to wade into the matter in order to avoid unpleasant circumstances.
All effort to speak to Hon. Koroye was abortive as his phone line were off.
However, the sector commander of the federal road safety commission said he has no issue with the operator of the tricycle order than his men leading the procession of during the protest to avoid traffic and obstructions on the road, he wondered why a section of the media will drag FRSC into the matter without confirmation.
” We are surprised that somebody mention road safety in that matter, we are not involved, that protest was purely the operators and the ministry of transport when they told us about the protest we decided to make sure that there is a free flow of traffic”.
“If anyone has information on FRSC Bayelsa state command extorting money from tricycle or any motorist, the person should please tell us the source of that information “.
That information is blackmail and we asking whosoever to withdraw draw that statement immediately”.
