Commercial motorcyclists popularity is known as Okada riders on Tuesday in Osogbo, Osun State capital protested against what they termed arbitrary increase in ticket fee by the state government from N50 to N200.
Vehicular movement was halted for hours at about 11.20am as they converged on the popular Olaiya junction in hundreds to denounce the decision of the government to increase the daily ticket fee to N200.
The protest later spread to other major areas in Osogbo, namely Oja Oba, Oke Brake, Ogo Oluwa, Odiolowo, thus causing gridlock in the metropolis.
The increase in the ticket fee for the commercial motorcyclists, Nigerian Tribune gathered was part of the measures by the state government to shore up its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Some of the protesting Okada riders, who spoke to journalists lamented that the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORON) would still collect N50 ticket fee daily from them apart from the N200 fee of the state government.
A copy of the N200 ticket spotted ed by our correspondent has “Osun State Government Internal Revenue Service Transporters Daily Ticket” written on it.
Some leaders of ACOMORON had mobilised their members to give out the tickets to every rider in sight, but the commercial motorcyclists were rejecting the tickets before they embarked on a protest.
One of the protesters, Mr. Kareem Adekunle called on the state government to revert to the former rate of ₦50 daily ticket for commercial motorcyclists in the state.
Reacting to the protest, the state chairman of ACOMORON, Mr. Ismaila Tiamiyu explained that the state government had met with the association before the implementation of the new ticket rate.
He added that the protesting commercial motorcyclists were not under the leadership of ACOMORON, saying they were operating without recognised garage or converging points for Okada riders.