Private and commercial motorcycle owners in Oyo state will soon be mandated to register their bikes and get a rider’s identification card.
This, according to state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Professor Raphael Afonja, became expedient considering the continued influx of motorcycles into the state as a result of a ban on bikes in neighbouring Lagos state.
He explained that asking bike riders to get a rider’s card was aimed at enabling the state profile bikers for security purposes and identifying those ones with criminal tendencies.
Afonja added that the registration of bike riders will also enable the state to gather an information database of riders and engender having a well-coordinated and an organised transport system.
“Due to the issue that happened in Lagos whereby we have seen an influx of people from Lagos into Oyo state, there is the need to have a rider’s card to be able to identify people coming into the state.
“So, in collaboration with the revenue collector for the state and with FRSC and the unions, we are collaborating to start the rider’s card which will be used to gather information to identify those who are doing any commercial or private business in the state. That will help us with profiling for security purposes as well.
“And this information database, with proper due process, it will help the security agencies in their work to know those who are in the state. “There have been incidences of snatching of bags, shooting of people. Last year, the driver of the Commissioner for Lands and Housing was shot by people on a bike.
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“There is the need to identify people who own bikes in the state and make sure that all motorcycles in Oyo state are properly registered.
“It is time for people to start registering their bikes so that we will be able to know who owns what and if they don’t we will make sure we pursue them and make them to do what is needful in the eyes of the law.
“We have to put our transport system in place, to make it organised and well-coordinated. Registration of bikers through rider’s card will be a database for us to harness information, know who owns what, where they live. There will be other things attached to it, which might include their BVN,” Afonja said.
Expatiating on the newly introduced park management system in the state, Afonja said riders of commercial Okada and tricycles will from Friday begin to pay N100 daily to the state’s revenue collectors.
According to Afonja, the reduction of the fee from N200 earlier announced to N100 was in complying to the directive by the state governor, Mr Seyi Makinde.
He added that the levy was in boosting the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and grow the state’s economy.
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