Ekiti seeks passage of bill to regulate activities of motorcycle operators

Worried by the activities of criminals under the guise of commercial motorcycle operation to perpetrate their evil acts, the Ekiti State Executive Council on Wednesday sent to the House of Assembly for passage into law a bill seeking to regulate the use of motorcycles in the state.

Earlier in May, the association of commercial motorcyclists in the state had raised the alarm that no fewer than 23 of its members had been murdered within three months by unknown killers.

The Chairman of the Okada Riders Association, Kunle Asaolu, made the disclosure at an emergency meeting between members of the association and representatives of the Ekiti State Police Command held at Fajuyi Pavilion in Ado Ekiti.

Cases

Common among the cases of criminals who allegedly used motorcycles had included the murder of a Point of Sale (POS) agent, popularly unknown as Alfa, along Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital road Ado Ekiti, and a middle-aged man identified as Samuel Omoyajowo shot dead by unknown gunmen around Okesa Roundabout near Governor’s office in Ado Ekiti, among several other killings.

Speaking to reporters after the State Executive Council meeting, the Commissioner for Information and Value Orientation, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said the government approved the presentation of the Ekiti State Commercial Motorcycle Operators Regulatory Bill, 2024 to the State House of Assembly for legislative processing and subsequent passage into law.

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Essence of law

According to him, the proposed law is to regulate the operations of Commercial Motorcycle Operators in the state to provide for mandatory data capturing of all private and commercial motorcycle operators in the state.

He said when the bill is passed into law, it would regulate the number of working hours of commercial motorcycle operators in Ekiti State and provide for mandatory branding of all commercial motorcycles in the colour and design that may be prescribed by the government, as well as prescribe penalties for offences committed under the law.

The commissioner said the state government could no longer fold its arms and allow criminal elements masquerading as motorcycle riders to murder innocent law-abiding people for no just cause.