Hundreds of commercial tricyclists, otherwise called “Keke operstotrs”, on Monday staged a peaceful protest in Umuahia, the Abia capital, calling for an end to alleged government’s multiple taxation and extortion.
The protesters, opersting under the aegis of the Abia State Almagamated Tricycle Operators Association (ASATOA), barricaded major roads and disrupted smooth vehicular movement for several hours in the city.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protesters commandeered other tricycles on duty and forced the operators to discharge their passengers and join the action.
Many commuters became stranded and were compelled to walk long distances to their destinations.
The protesters carried placards with different inscriptions, such as: “Stop this intimidation on keke now,” “We are tired of this extortion and cultists’ invasion on Keke operators,” and “Gov. Ikpeazu should call Umuahia North Deputy TC Chairman to order.”
Other inscriptions also read: “Enough of police intimidations to Keke operators,’’ and “Gov. Ikpeazu, please help us! Cultists/thugs have hijacked Keke parks.”
They alleged incessant harassment and intimidation of their members by the agents of the state and Umuahia Noth Local Government, who they accused of making life unbearable for them.
The angry protesters took their protest to the Abia House of Assembly, where Okechukwu Ijebuonwu, the Vice Chairman of ASATOA, who led the protest, appealed to the lawmakers to save their souls.
Read Also: Minimum wage: Labour unions set to begin another strike
Ijebuonwu said: “Mr Speaker, we are law abiding citizens. Our members pay N150 daily levy to the state government.
“But another N100 is illegally collected from our members daily at Isi-Gate by some thugs.
“Besides, the thugs extort N3,000 from our members for what they call obstruction.
“As I speak, there is no designated park for us in Umuahia and whenever we stop to pick or drop passengers those thugs jump into our Keke accusing us of obstruction.
“They harass, intimidate and confiscate our tricycles indiscriminately.”
Ijebuonwu further alleged that some of them were attacked and macheted on Thursday by some of the thugs at Isi-Gate.
He also alleged harassment, intimidation and extortion of their members by officials of the Traffic and Indiscipline Management Agency of Abia State (TIMASS).
He alleged that the TIMASS officials were extorting between N15,000 and N20,000 from their members under the guise of traffic violations.
In his response, the Speaker, Mr Chinedum Orji, thanked the protesters for their maturity by embarking on a peaceful protest to make their grievances known to the government.
He regretted that the funds, which were supposed to go to the government purse to boost the Internally Generated Revenue, were being diverted to the pockets of some unscrupulous individuals.
He promised that the house would investigate the matter, adding that the government would not allow its name to be dragged in the mud.
He, therefore, summoned a meeting between the government stakeholders and leaders of ASATOA in his office on Tuesday. (NAN)