The Association of Tricycle Riders’ Union, Enugu State has described as malicious and ill conceived claims that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of the State was using members of the association to raise money for his re-election campaign.
It said the clarification became necessary owing to reported claims that the Governor was milking them dry for the purpose of raising money for his election.
Chairman of the association, Comrade Benjamin Ikah dismissed the allegation in a statement made available to DAILY POST, where he insisted that instead of exploiting them, Governor Ugwuanyi had been a saviour to his members.
The statement read:
“The recent allegation by one Bede Chukwuekezie that the Enugu State Governor wants to use Keke Riders in the state to raise money for his re-election campaign, following the introduction of reduced and harmonized fee of N6000 is false, baseless and mischievous.
This is yet another wicked and desperate act of the originator of this smear campaign and tissues of lies in a failed attempt to achieve a selfish political end.
As the Chairman of Association of Tricycle (Keke) Riders Transport Union, Enugu State, I wish to put the records straight as follows:
That it was we, the Keke riders in Enugu State, in conjunction with the Okada riders that wrote an official letter to His Excellency, the Governor appealing to him to consider the RIDER’S PERMIT in place of the outrageous N18,000 and N22, 000 we pay respectively to obtain Driver’s License from the Federal Road Safety Commission, in order to ameliorate our sufferings.
After an extensive deliberation and negotiation with the state government, we the Keke and Okada riders unanimously agreed to be paying N6,000 for Rider’s Permit, which is renewable after three years, courtesy of the magnanimity of our kind-hearted Governor, Gburugburu.
We unanimously agreed to pay direct to the coffers of the state’s treasury every three years as Rider’s Permit.
Consequently, we sincerely wish to use this medium to once again thank our PEOPLES’ GOVERNOR for coming to our rescue when it mattered most, through the introduction of the RIDER’S PERMIT, which is far much cheaper and favorable to us.
No operator who has a National Driver’s License is requested to obtain a Rider’s Permit till it expires.
Importantly, let it be on record that Keke riders in Enugu State are not up to 200,000 as was mischievously alleged by the detractors, Bede Chukwuekezie, but only about 40,000 in number.
We, therefore, advise the likes of Bede and his cohorts, who for their selfish political interest are bent on fabricating false information against the Governor and his people-oriented administration, not to use our association to play politics again, because we are at home and happy with the decision on Rider’s Permit as well as the programmes and policies of the state government. They should not cry more than the bereaved.”
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