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From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
Commercial tricycle operators, popularly known as keke drivers, staged a protest in Calabar on Thursday, blocking the Orok Orok Roundabout and causing heavy traffic congestion in the area.
The protesting drivers parked their tricycles across the road, preventing the movement of vehicles and leaving many commuters stranded as motorists struggled to access adjoining routes.
The protest also affected movement along nearby routes, including Goldie, Orok Orok and Etta Agbor. Some of the riders were seen holding placards with inscriptions such as “No More Tickets Till Further Notice” and “Stop the High Ticket Rates.”
The protesting drivers alleged that they were made to pay exorbitant amounts of money for tickets ranging from 600 naira to 1,200 naira daily, depending on the route.
They also protested against the high number of taskforces operating within the Calabar metropolis, whose activities, they said, cause them huge financial losses on a daily basis.
Ekpenyong Okon, one of the protesters, called for a drastic reduction of the taxes and an end to the activities of taskforces within the Calabar metropolis.
“The ticket prices are too much. Apart from the daily ticket, we also pay commission at most of the roundabouts within the city. This does not include annual renewal fees.
“In addition, taskforces go to extra lengths to extort from us. When you also take into account the fact that fuel costs have increased and also the high cost of spare parts, we find it hard to break even,” he said.
Officials of the state police command intervened to ensure that the protest did not escalate into violence.
There has been no official response by government officials to the demands of the protesting tricycle operators.
Last week, minibus drivers protested against the activities of taskforces within the metropolis, and the state government responded by suspending all taskforces operating against minibus drivers within the city.
