The Kwara State House of Assembly has asked the state government to collaborate with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in order to conduct a drug integrity test for all registered commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators in the state.
It also asked the state government to direct the Ministry of Transportation to register and recognise transport unions in order to check infiltration of undesirable elements into the sector.
The legislature’s decisions followed a motion on a matter of general public importance on the ‘Urgent Need to Review the Operation of Okada and Tricycle Commercial Operators In Kwara State’, raised by the member representing Ipaye/Malete/Oloru Constituency, Hon. Lawal Salihu, during plenary.
In the House resolutions read by the speaker, Engr. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, the legislators called on Kwara State Residents Registration Agency (KWASRRA) to implement a mandatory registration system for all commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators with clear identity verification, biometric data and unique identification numbers.
They also urged Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to direct his assistant on Drugs and Narcotic to collaborate with NDLEA to conduct drug integrity tests on all registered commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators in the state.
Earlier, while leading the debate on the motion, Hon. Salihu said some Okada and tricycle riders were being used as tools to perpetrate criminal activities, including banditry, robbery, kidnapping and drug trafficking.
He implored the state government to continue to restore peace across the state by ensuring that Okada operation is not hijacked by criminal elements.
Other lawmakers, who contributed to the debate, urged the State governor to call on the state’s Commissioner of Police to ensure strict enforcement of the 9pm close of operation for Okada and tricycle operators as a way of curbing criminality.
