BY Dyepkazah Shibayan
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed dismay over the decision by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and some states to ban commercial motorcycles.
The FCTA destroyed 470 impounded motorcycles last week. It said it is considering arresting riders of motorcycles and their passengers.
The administration said the riders operated in restricted areas.
Speaking at a meeting with the leadership of the Motorcycle Operators Union of Nigeria (MOUN) at the weekend, Joe Ajaero, NLC president, said governments across the country have been insensitive to the plight of citizens with their ban on the operations of the motorcyclists, popularly called Okada.
MOUN is seeking to be part of organised labour.
“The idea of banning motorcyclists is an indication of the clear insensitivity of government authorities, who are always prejudicial whenever theft cases are executed to mean cyclists are the ones,” Ajaero said.
“If you allege that they are the ones and you ban them when they are not, who then is wrong? Again, what provision have you made for them?
“The government has refused to provide jobs for these category of people. How can they survive with their families?
“When vehicles engage in accidents and or being used by armed robbers, will this make the government ban vehicles? The answer is absolute no.”
On his part, Julius Bobi, MOUN president, said his organisation has registered with the federal ministry of labour and employment as a trade union.
Bobi described the ban as “throwing away the baby with the bath water”.
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