The Vice President of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents,( ANLCA,) Dr. kayode Farinto has frowned at the recent ban placed on Commercial Motorcycles otherwise known as Okada and Tricycles also known as Keke Napep from plying most major roads in Lagos State.
Dr. Farinto who showed his displeasure Monday during a press briefing at the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) International Press Centre ,Apapa , Lagos regretted the untold suffering people have been subjected to as a result of the ban.
He said the Federal government had failed totally in her responsibility of providing good roads, rehabilitate, repair , reconstruct or resurface the already existing dilapidated roads.
According to him, “in the last one or two years, we have been plying Okada. 99% of our job is done on bike. I was coming here now, I couldn’t get a bike, I had to come with my official car. Ordinarily, it suppose to be N50. 00. As I am talking to you now, it is Exodus on the road. If you have any consignment in Tincan now, I need to either trek or I go with my official vehicle knowing fully well that the road is very bad.
“We have our members who do clearing of cargo either at Mile 2 which is affiliated to PTML, some in Liverpool, etc. Now how do we survive this? I think it is insensitivity on the side of the government and this is going to shut down the economy, and it is beginning to have adverse effect on the economy, except the government want to tell us that they are not feeling it and this is not what the Lagos State government promised us during the electioneering”.
He recalled the governor promised to review the issue of Okada and even make sure they are protected and wondered whether what is happening now could be called ‘protection’
“It is the masses that are suffering it. My members are going to suffer it most. How do we get our cargo cleared in the Port?. The Federal government refused to fix the roads, now the Lagos State government is coming with a ban on Okada even affected Tricycle .
“Today, there is implementation of 75% VAT, perhaps invoices that were collected on Friday that Ordinarily, that is not supposed to affect it, we went to the bank to pay and now they were saying we cannot pay because the implementation commenced 1st of February. Should we now continue this way? SON is unable to provide document and we have this other issue, cargo clearance is the problem in the Port. I think it is high time we declare cosma dure because our members will not continue to pay demorages on this cargo”, he said.
Dr. Farinto urged the Federal government to be up and doing while the state government should be responsible and be sensitive to the plight of the masses, stressing that any government that is not sensitive to the plight of the masses is a wicked government.
“This is not the best time of the year to plan ban on Okada riding. And if they want to place ban, it should not be on commercial areas like Apapa.
