Kwara State Government yesterday said it
has no plan to ban commercial motorcycle operators in the state, unlike other
states of the federation.
Speaking during this year’s May Day
celebration in Ilorin, yesterday Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said
government existed to strengthen livelihoods and enhance the well being of its
people.
The governor said however, his
administration intended to implement a phased replacement of Okadas with
tricycles that were safer and more lucrative, adding that tricycle operators
made more money given their capacity to carry more passengers.
He said government was aware of the
demands by labour unions for enhanced welfare packages for their members and
the resolution of other outstanding issues and implored them to adopt more
negotiation tools to guard against actions that would derail the peace and the
economic survival of the state.
Meanwhile, the state council of the Trade
Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have
hailed the efforts of the state government to diversify the state’s economy
from civil service to industrial economy.
The chairman of TUC, Mr Kolawole Olumoh,
said diversification of the state’s economy would help to sustain amenities
already provided by the government.
The labour union leader, who also called
for decent wages for workers, said it would guarantee the future of the economy
of the state in all strata.
