Commercial motorcyclists protest multiple levies in Ogun

Commercial motorcyclists on the Mowe-Ibafo-Owode corridor of Ogun State, on Wednesday, staged a protest against multiple levies paid to their unions.

In the protest staged at The PUNCH Place, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the cyclists particularly protested a new sticker said to have been imposed on them without due consultation.

Among the protesters was the vice chairman of the Abeokuta, Ibafo, Magboro, Owode Progressive Association, zone 2 branch, Abiodun Kamorudeen, who listed levies they had to pay, totalling N30,000.

He said the situation is worsened by the fact that riders have to pay for stickers and permits to three unions.

He said, “We are under three union associations, and each of their stickers is priced at N5,000; then we also pay an additional N5,000 for a Hackney permit sticker, which makes it a total of N20,000.

“After those stickers, the union recently imposed another sticker at the rate of N3,000. This is apart from paying for the rider’s permit for N7,000. Also, we pay N800 for daily tickets, including weekends and public holidays. All these stickers and permits would total N30,000 per rider. It is not fair to us. How can one rider serve three unions? It is unfair.”

Kamorudeen said it was baffling that the union members claim that all the stickers are approved by the state government.

Under the regime, he said it seemed they worked for the motorcycle union, whom they simply submitted whatever they gathered as fares to.

“We don’t have any medical aid for riders when we get injured or involved in road accidents. We know we are slaves to the government, but we need to be treated well so we can also do our work efficiently. We don’t look healthy, all the money we make is being collected by them,” he added.

The general chairman of the Arewa Riders Association, Sanusi Dusi, claimed that riders did not get the import of the daily levies paid to their union.

Sanusi said, “We do not have a garage where we pick passengers; we pay all we are supposed to pay to the union, yet, we are being treated unfairly. When the union brought the new sticker and rider’s permit, we told them to hold on because we did not believe it was approved by the state government.

“The fee for the daily ticket was also increased from N600 to N800 without any cause, and we opposed it.

“We have families to feed, and we are not benefiting from the taxes paid. All of us have families, and we don’t make so much, yet the union asks us to pay heavy levies and ticket fees, only for us not to benefit.

“We don’t have a garage to operate. As a result, policemen arrest us frequently because we do not have a designated area to park our bikes. We also don’t have hospitals that attend to us when we have accidents. The union doesn’t help us at all,” Sanusi said.

Another rider from the Obafemi Owode local government, David Ibeto, said apart from the several levies, bike men also have to pay N200 for road maintenance.

He also claimed that the union had no welfare or insurance package for members, especially when they suffered injuries or died from accidents.

“Last year, we lost two Okada men to a heavy-duty truck accident, and the union did not intervene. By the time riders retaliated, they were arrested and each one of them bailed themselves with N500,000; the death of those riders was overlooked, yet we have a union that we pay taxes to,” he added.

They urged the local government chairman, the Ogun state governor Dapo Abiodun, and all the relevant stakeholders to come to their aid and significantly reduce the levies.

They also queried being taxed on weekends and public holidays, adding that a park should be created for them to operate.