By Sola Obagbemisoye
As the registration of motorcycles otherwise known as Okada moves to Owo LGA in Ondo North Senatorial District, cyclists in the area have again been reminded the need to key into the program to enable them benefit from it’s multiple gains.
Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on ICT and the Coordinator of the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) Mr. Olumbe Akinkugbe while speaking on the significance of the exercise explained that the primary purpose of the registration is to regulate the activities of commercial cyclists on public roads with a view to nipping bike related crimes in the bud.
According to him, previous exercise has not only made it possible for govt to monitor criminal elements masquerading as commercial cyclists within and from the neighbouring states but track them down for prosecution by the law enforcement agencies.
As he put it, “the ongoing Okada registration across the state is to further generate verifiable data that will avail govt detailed knowledge and information about Okada riders and what they need to boost their businesses”.
In addition, Akinkugbe said available information from those who had registered so far indicated that those engaging in the trade are within the age bracket of 20 to 40 years while statistical analysis of information from them revealed that about 35% of them are graduates.
He therefore appealed to others who are yet to register to quickly do so & ensure that they supply adequate and correct information that will be useful to govt in it’s policy planning & execution.
The exercise moves to other districts soon.
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