Insecurity: Delta moves to cut Okada, Keke operators to size

Paul Osuyi, Asaba

Delta State Government said it has adopted measures to adequately check the nefarious activities of some suspected tricycle (Keke) and motorcycle (Okada) operators in Asaba, the state capital.

The government said it was worried by the upsurge of criminal activities in recent times within the metropolis, which it attributed to alleged infiltration of the rank of Keke and Okada operators by criminal elements.

Recently, our correspondent learnt that an official at the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) died after he was robbed, stabbed and pushed out of moving tricycle.

Addressing journalists in Asaba, the Director General of Delta State capital Territory Development Agency (DSCTDA), Mrs. Amaechi Mrakpor, said the state government would no longer tolerate activities of criminal elements disguising as Okada and Keke riders.

Mrakpor announced that from Monday, November 23, a taskforce would commence operation to pick out Okada and Keke operators who failed to comply with rules guiding their operations.

The move, according to her, is to ensure that genuine Keke and Okada operators and not hoodlums, were known.

She called on the Keke operators union and the various units of Okada operators to check, streamline the activities of their members with a view to identifying the genuine operators as opposed to hoodlums posing as riders.

Saying that the state government would not ban Keke and Okada operators, Mrakpor siezed the opportunity to also announce that the taskforce with the mandate to restore the aesthetics of the capital would comment operation on Monday, lamenting that Asaba was fast returning to it’s old self.

“We are a responsible state, and so we need to let our residents know that they should keep their environment clean,” Mrakpor said.

Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, said government resorted to the drastic measures to guarantee security of lives and preserve the aesthetics nature of the town.

“The state government is going to streamline the operation of Keke and Okada riders; we cannot continue to undermine the virtues of cleanliness and live like pigs.

“We want Asaba to be a 24-hour city, where people should be safe and not live in fear of insecurity.

“As part of our streamlining efforts, the state government will define routes for Keke and o6kade operators, and task force members must be obeyed,” Aniagwu said.