Okada Ban: Full List Of Nigerian States That Prohibit Commercial Motorcycles
The Lagos state governor under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu began the enforcement of the ban on commercial motorcycles popularly known as Okada on Wednesday, June 1, bringing about relative peace in the prohibited routes and LGAs.
The Sanwo-Olu-led government has kicked against the use of Okada the commercial City of Excellence, based on records and reports of menace, bordering on insecurity, danger, and accidents linked to the means of transportation.
Source: Facebook
But Lagos is not the only Nigerian state which has placed a ban on Okada; a number of other states shared these same misgivings and had made a similar decision across some stipulated areas.
Here is a list of states that have placed and enforced the same ban and the year of enforcement:
Rivers
Under former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the Rivers state government banned Okada in 2008, following cases of attacks by militants who were using the means to unleash terror, especially in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
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Kano
In 2017, the Kano state road traffic agency announced a ban on the use of commercial motorcycles.
At the time, Boko haram attacks were at their peak and the government deemed it wise to restrict the movement of these armed criminals with the ban.
Akwa Ibom
To usher in the urban renewal policy of his government in Uyo, former Governor Godswill Akpabio in 2011 banned the use of Okada.
And to encourage the motorcycle riders Akpabio promised to pay N50,000 per okada in an effort to alleviate their living condition.
FCT, Abuja
FCT administration in 2018 noted that the Abuja master does not accommodate the operation of commercial motorcycles and tricycles. and went ahead to place a ban on them.
Enugu
The Enugu state government announced a ban on Okada in 2011, maintaining that the decision was in line with its traffic law Act (137) of 2004.
Kaduna
In an announcement that took immediate effect, former Governor Mukhtar Yero in 2014 banned commercial bikes.
The then governor to give the order a legal backing signed the Kaduna State Commercial Motorcycles Prohibition Law to deal with worsening security conditions under administration.
Okada ban: Lagos to lose N4 billion daily to traffic snarl, as security operatives clamp down on riders
Meanwhile, as Lagos state residents came to the reality of the new directives by the state government to clamp down on motorcycle riders, popularly called Okada, analysts had pegged the loss that will be incurred by the state government at N4 billion.
The state government had been in a running battle with the riders in the state over their unruly behaviour and flagrant disregard for traffic rules and other offences.
The beginning of the end?
In February 2020, the state government imposed a blanket ban on Okada and tricycle operators in 18 local government areas of the state, citing insecurity and other reasons for the ban.
Source: Legit.ng
