Group Slams Abia for  Restricting Tricycle, Motorcycle Operations

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The Abia State Government has come under condemnation for imposing restrictions on commercial tricycle (Keke) and motorcycle operators in Umuahia and Aba with effect from July 1, 2024.

The state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs had last Tuesday announced the government decision that tricycles and motorcycles would operate in the two cities between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.

He said it was among the measures taken to curb rising wave of criminalities in the state, especially in Umuahia, the capital city and Aba, the commercial hub.

But a group of youth leaders under the aegis of Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has said that placing restriction on people that use Keke and motorcycle operations as means of livelihood was a misguided policy given the present economic situation.

In a statement issued by its President-General, Goodluck Ibem, COSEYL said that the new policy would exacerbate the economic hardships.

“Abians will suffer untold hardships if Keke and Okada stop moving on the roads between 7p.m. and 6a.m.,” the group said.

It said that the government should have considered installation of CCTV cameras which “will go a long way to provide security,” having been found to be very effective in prevention and detection of crimes.

COSEYL, which prides itself as “the apex socio-political youth group in the South-east zone, said that while the efforts of Governor Otti to checkmate criminalities in the state was quite commendable, however, argued that if restrictions on operating Keke and bikes have become inevitable as means of fighting crime, the government must “provide alternative means of transport before implementing the policy.”

According to the group, “So  many areas like Obohia, Ohanku, Uratta, Omuma and other areas in Aba still depend solely on tricycles and motorcycles to go home after the business of the day (as) their roads are yet to receive attention.”

It also pointed that compelling people to trek home once it’s 7 p.m. would expose them to more danger in the hands of criminal elements

The group added: “Places like Ohanku, Obohia, Uratta and others are the worst hit when people are trekking home after the day work,” COSEYL said, adding that “trekking home after the day work is very dangerous in these areas.”

While expressing its appreciation to the Governor Otti government in its efforts to make lives and property more secure, COSEYL said that it should not be done to the detriment of the same people being protected.

The group urged the government to prioritise the deployment of CCTV, intelligence gathering and community collaboration with security agencies in the war against crime and the perpetrators.