By Bola Agboola
Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose yesterday reaffirmed his determination never to ban commercial motorcyclists from Ekiti roads. Speaking to the operators in a special meeting he had with them within the governor’s office premises yesterday, Governor Fayose said "if the remaining 35 states in Nigeria decides to ban okada, Ekiti under my watch as governor will never ban Okada riders. This was part of my promise when I was campaigning, for two reasons, we have over 5/6 thousand Okada riders in the state, we cannot provide immediate employment for them, who are mostly graduates, minimally OND holders, if you cannot provide an alternative, you must not take away the only one that is available. Yorubas say Onaa ofun, Onaa Orun(food is life). Social welfare that is done abroad is only to keep crime low because an idle hand is the devil's workshop. So for me, I will continue to keep my promises and continue to protect you and I will not take away your means of livelihood(Claps and Appreciative song). Whether they call me Area boy, it doesn't matter, whether they call me danfo driver, it doesn't matter, whether they call me Okada rider, it doesn't matter as long as I and Okada people are together. Tell me one person that is perfect, tell me the driver that is perfect, even private drivers. The only thing to do is to be correcting and checking the excesses of our members, there is no sector in this country where you don't have bad eggs, if they now single out Okada riders and call them area boys, this and that. Why did they not provide jobs for them? Why did they not do the needful? When they need your votes they don't ban Okada, when they finish taking your votes, they bring policies that take you to extinction. That is wickedness! Before you take what I have, give me the one you have." In what appeared to be a balanced approach, the governor admonished the riders to be 'very' law abiding urging them never to make him regret his love and support for them. "When you drink, don't ride. When you ride, do drink. No matter how much I love you, I won't support you condemning people's legs, as I am supporting you, you have to support my administration by being law abiding, by ensuring safe and cautious ride that won't land our people in hospitals." Urging them to pay their dues to government, the governor took his time to explain how the last administration plunged Ekiti into debts that will go beyond 2020 to be paid, he mentioned how the income from Abuja has reduced by more than half and the need to look inwards for survival. Governor Fayose informed them of a Riders' Identification scheme/program that will include biometric registration of all Okada operators in the state. The scheme which will make riding a bike(for commercial purpose) in Ekiti without an identification and unit number on one's jacket a crime, this he said is aimed at sanitising the sector. The identification scheme, according to the governor will be followed by an insurance policy for interested Okada riders, this is intended at making life easier in case there is an accident or loss of property. Gov. Fayose later promised the gathering that as soon as the biometric process of identification is concluded, the government will make provision for a #10,000,000 revolving loan from which a single member can borrow a maximum of #50,000 payable in one year (i.e #1000 per week). The association is billed to meet again in the next two weeks with the governor at the same venue.
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