BENUE STATE GOVERNMENT: STOP EXTORTING MOTORCYCLISTS

The one thousand, five hundred naira (N1500) fee imposed on motorcyclists (Okada riders) by the Benue State Government as compulsory registration fee for security reason is simply an illegal official way of extorting the poor Motorcyclists in the state. Okada riders in the state are truly suffering due to the fact that police officers are always collecting money from them forcibly, which is now becoming legal that they most give money to police officers every day they go out for their Okada riding business. As if is not enough, Benue State Government is now joining forces with the police officers in the state to frustrate Okada riders. It is the responsibility of the Benue State Government to provide jobs for her citizenry but she failed and at the same time implementing policies that could hinder the unemployed youths from being self-reliance. Majority of the Okada riders in Benue State are graduates and they embarked on the Okada riding business due to the absent of government jobs as we all know how our government lacked creativity to create jobs for her jobless youths. However, instead of the state government to think of what to do to encourage these youths (Okada riders) and make their Okada riding business more profiting so as to continue keeping them busy in order to prevent them from becoming threat in the Benue society, the government is rather imposing policies that could soon kick some of the youths out of the Okada riding business and render them jobless again. The reason given for the obligatory fee of N1500 upon each Okada rider in the state by the Benue state government is not convinced and satisfied. The fact that the state is facing security challenge does not mean Okada riders are responsible and should suffer for it by asking them to pay N1500 for security reason. If things should be rightly done, the state government would have asked the Okada riders to obtain plate number for their motorcycles and not to pay a mandatory charge of N1500 for registration. After the purchase of these motorcycles, the owners went and paid heavily for plate number and it was given to them. That’s the registration. Their names are written in the receipt given to them after paying for the plate number that would differentiate one motorcycle from the others and as well, show that truly, one is the actual owner of a particular motorcycle. Then, what is the need of paying another N1500 for registration? What kind of security reason that necessitated the payment of N1500 as registration fee? If the Benue state government is broke, Okada riders are not responsible, if the Benue state government is having challenges in paying the salary of her workers, Okada riders are not responsible and should not be asked indirectly to contribute for the payment of the workers’ salary, if the Benue state government fail to utilize the over 28billion naira bail-out funds given to her by the federal government and still owing some of her workers, Okada riders are not responsible and should not be indirectly task for it, if the Benue state government lacked sources of income, Okada riders should not be used as a source of her income and if Benue state government cannot be creative to create channels that can be providing income for the state, Okada riders are not responsible and should not be tasked to pay for the incompetency of the state government.