The Enugu state government has dissolved all task forces responsible for overseeing commercial tricycles, commonly known as keke, until further notice in the state.
On Saturday, the permanent secretary of the state ministry of transport, Ogbonna Idike, made the announcement in Enugu following a meeting with the executives and members of the commercial tricycle union in the state.
The meeting was prompted by a peaceful protest staged by some members of the tricycle union on Friday, expressing their grievances over harassment and extortion by tricycle task force members operating in Enugu metropolis.
Mr. Idike stated that the dissolution applied to both legally and illegally constituted task forces for tricycle operators and would take effect immediately.
The permanent secretary criticized the tricycle operators for not reporting the issue to the ministry in a timely manner, as the ministry’s offices were open to the public and road stakeholders, especially drivers/riders.
He revealed that the ministry was previously unaware of this negative and inhumane situation.
“Henceforth, the state government, through the ministry, will regulate and sanction all transport union task forces to adhere to best practices and standards. This will ensure that hooligans and thugs do not take advantage of such initiatives.
“Firstly, the union must apply for and obtain approval from the ministry. The members assigned to the task force duty will be well-known and properly identified with numbered reflective aprons and identification cards. Additionally, they must be appropriately dressed.
“All task force members must receive proper training from the ministry on how to carry out their duties in a courteous manner that does not disturb public peace. Their conduct should attract commendation due to their discipline and professionalism.
“The ministry will also clearly define offenses and their corresponding fines and penalties. There will be no arbitrary or blatant extortion anymore,” he explained.
Mr. Idike highlighted that ministry officials and traffic officers would work during public holidays and weekends to ensure that traffic control and issues between drivers, union members, and other road users are promptly resolved.
“The ministry’s objective is to promote and ensure that Governor Peter Mbah’s vision of making the state more productive and prosperous for all is achieved,” he added.
In response, Sunday Ozeh, chairman of the Association of Tricycle Riders Transport Union (ATRTU), expressed gratitude to the government for its timely intervention. He emphasized that the association would comply with the ministry’s guidance and actions aimed at streamlining operations for optimal performance.
Mr. Ozeh urged the state government, through the ministry, to collaborate with council chairmen to ensure that tricycle task force officials operate within their designated local government parks as stipulated in their mandates.
Earlier, Chinedu Nsude and Peter Emmanuel, who are keke riders, lamented the daily harassment they faced from the disbanded task force members. They explained how these members forced them to load passengers far away from their tricycle parks and imposed an unjust fine of N3,500.
“If we contested these illegal fines, they would accuse us of fighting and forcefully take us to their parks, where they would charge us a fine of N10,500 for fighting.
“We can no longer meet our daily remittance to the tricycle owners since most of them operate under hire purchase agreements, due to the unwarranted intimidation and extortion by these so-called task force members,” they lamented.
The meeting was attended by officials from the ministry of transport, executive members, board members, and members of the tricycle union in the state.
(NAN)
