Ebonyi tricycle operators block roads, allege multiple taxation in Ebonyi
By Amarachi Ehia, Abakaliki
Tricycle Operators in Ebonyi state Friday blocked major roads of Abakaliki metropolis protesting multiple taxations.
They blocked the Tran-saharan- highway linking Taraba and Cameroon thereby causing vehicular and human movement for some hours in Abakaliki Capital City.
The tricycle operators in their numbers, also blocked other adjoining roads and streets that link the highway with their machines protesting new registration of their tricycles as introduced by their leadership and the state government.
They equal noted that they are being made to pay at multiple points among others and also made to pay for tricycle registration which they had done before.
The situation attracted Governor Francis Nwifuru and heavy presence of security agencies including police and army.
The governor who stopped and enquire their problems asked them to come to his government lodge for proper briefing and possibly solutions.
Early,one of the protesters, Moses Egede alleged that they spent over N10,000 on taxes and extortion weekly
He lamented that every day, they are made to pay N500 as ticket fees apart from various amounts they pay to various taskforce that always stop them on various roads and junctions.
“We are spending a lot on taxes and extortion by taskforce and security agents. If you calculate what we spend weekly, you will discover that we spend over N10,000 weekly.
“If you drive to International market, you buy ticket, if you drive to vanco junction, you buy ticket, if you also reach rice mill, you buy buy ticket, if you also reach spera-in-deo, you will buy ticket and this happens every day”, he said.
Another protester Nwokpoku Abraham, said tricycle operators were being treated as if they were no longer part of the state.
He alleged that they were paying N150 as ticket fee which was increased to N200, N300 and N500, describing it as unacceptable
“In all these things, taskforce have not allowed us to work. If you park by the roadside, taskforce will jump into your tricycle and hold you. Most times, they will deflate your tyres or impound your tricycle if you refused to give them money.
“We are being extorted and intimidated alot and this is why we say it must stop, this is why we are protesting”, Nwokpoku stated.
He accused the Chairman of tricycle operators in the state, Uguru Nwabueze of promoting the multiple taxation in their union and imposing of new registration of members.
But Uguru denied the allegations against him.
He told Daily Sun that there was no database for tricycle operators in the state until he came in and resolved that there must the database in the association to checkmate crimes often committee using tricycle.
He alleged that tricycles have been used several times to steal people’s livestock and other valuable which made his leadership and the state government to introduce online registration of members of the association to easily identify any tricycle used to commit crime in the state.
He noted that he has pleaded that the registration exercise be extended to enable all the tricycle operators to register and has secured the release of all the tricycles impounded by the state Ministry of Transport for not being registered.
Uguru called for peace in the union.
