Fayemi dispels rumour on okada ban in Ekiti

    
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has said his administration has no plan to ban commercial motorcycle operators otherwise known as Okada riders from plying their trade in the state.

The governor spoke during his monthly media chat, ‘Meet Your Governor’, in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, on Sunday night.

He urged politicians in the state to conduct themselves within the ambit of the law as the state approaches the 2014 governorship election, saying politicians should give peace a chance so that Ekiti would not relapse into a state of “one week, one trouble.”

Fayemi said the rumour on the planned ban of Okada in the state was being peddled by opposition politicians in a bid to create disaffection between those involved in the trade and the government.

He described some politicians as “jokers who sit down in beer parlours to concoct stories for their selfish ends”, adding that the rumour existed in the imagination of those concocting it.

He stated, “You have lots of jokers out there, who sit down in beer parlours concocting stories. There is no place where I said I will phase out Okada and I can say we do not have any plan to ban okada on our roads.

“I want to use this forum to tell our people that we have no plan to phase out Okada either gradually or outrightly. I know they play a significant role in the transport sector of the economy. All we need do is to ensure that Ekitis have a state that is peaceful and prosperous in which more jobs will be created for the citizens in 2014.”