Thousands
of commuters were early this morning stranded in Yenagoa as a result of the
strike embarked upon by tricycle operators popularly known as keke over multiple
taxation by agents of Bayelsa State government.
Some
of the commuters who were seen trekking far distances to their places of work
expressed sadness over the situation.
Two
civil servants Mr Damina Peter and Humphrey Idobozi said they were taken by
surprised by the strike and called on the government to look into the plight of
keke operators, stressing that the masses are the ones suffering.
The Public Relations Officer, Keke riders welfare in
Bayelsa state, Mr Sunday Nwoga lamented the continuous harassment from
government agents, noting that the imposition of six thousand five hundred naira
for security number by the Ministry of transport was too much for them to
bear.
The
Secretary of Keke Association in Brass road, Mr Andrew Ogeunu who
said members are not against the security number, appealed to the
state government to reduce the amount because there are other taxes to
pay.
Other
tricycle operators, Mr Hings Ake and Samson Onyechere also accused Police and
Road Safety officials of collecting money from them at random even without
committing any offence.
Reacting to the developments, the Special
Assistant on Transport to the governor of Bayelsa state, Mr Perewari Koroye
explained that the security number was important to check criminal elements in
the state.
On the issue of curtains for keke which is
one of their grievances, Mr Koroye said the
operators are reacting based on false information,
stressing that there was no truth in the allegation.
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