Governor Kayode Fayemi

By Toba Suleiman

Ekiti State Government said it has commenced the process of enacting a law that will prohibit the riding of motorcycles (Okada) along the highways in order to reduce drastically the rate of auto crash in the state.

The General Manager of the state Traffic Management Agency (EKSTMA), Mr. Charles Fasuba, disclosed this Monday, while fielding questions from journalists in Ado-Ekiti.

He said by the time the ongoing dualisation and reconstruction of roads in the state were completed, the volume of traffic in the state would increase rapidly.

Fasuba noted that as a proactive step towards preventing road crashes the EKSTMA had written a letter to Governor Kayode Fayemi over the excesses of Okada riders in the state, with reference to the petition from Public Complaints Commission (PCC).

He said in the letter to the governor, the Agency alleged among others the non-compliance of Okada riders with traffic rules and regulations, riding against traffic with impunity, addiction to alcohol and hooliganism.

Besides, the General Manager of EKSTMA also accused Okada riders of riding without caution and dangerous overtaking, sending many innocent souls to the grave prematurely and turning other physically strong people to disabled through avoidable accidents they subjected those people to.

He added that some of them have criminal tendencies like bag snatching, kidnapping, robbery, among others.

Fasuba decried the rate at which the Emergency Unit of the state University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) in Ado-Ekiti was filled with casualties daily, maintained that it was, “imperative to restrict the use of Okada to feeder roads in the state.”