The Lagos State Chairman of of the Motorcycle Operators Association of Lagos State (MOALS), Comrade Tijani Pekis, has warned that a ban of the operations of commercial motorcycles in the state would result in the loss of more than two million jobs.
Pekis said this during a press conference that preceded a meeting between okada riders, officials of State Government and security agents.
The Lagos State Government has, in recent weeks, intensified efforts to check what it described as the excesses of okada riders within the State.
But Pekis, who said his association was in support of the policy of the government to sanitise okada operations within the state, said, “in this era of poverty alleviation and job creation, we submit that Lagos State State cannot afford to lose over two million jobs that the operations of the commercial motorcycles entail. These are in the areas of sales, service, riders and spare parts. Our only option is to rethink and tinker with the operations.”
Pekis said that the unbearable level of unemployment that started in the mid 80’s forced many people to take to the okada business and added that okada had become “the source of income of over five million Nigerians who had at one time or the other engaged in the business.”
He also said that the terrible state of roads, the traffic hold-up on roads as well as the loss of man-hours on the roads have made it necessary for okada to operate to alleviate the transport challenges commuters go through on a daily basis.