Obiano empowers Okada operators with N765m

Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has set aside N765 million for commercial motorcyclists in the state to enable them purchase shuttle buses following the government’s decision to restrict them from operating in Awka, the state capital, and Onitsha, the South East commercial hub, from July 1.
The funds will be accessed through the Anambra State Small Business Agency (ASBA).
Existing commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada operators, will take delivery of the buses once they deposit N100,000 with ASBA, undertaking to make payments every two weeks, according to the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Don Adinuba, who disclosed that the interest-free loan can be repaid within a year and a half.
The shuttle buses will cost between N700,000 and N800,000 each. The first set of 200 units of the 1,000 buses in the scheme will soon arrive state from Japan.
Adinuba, in a statement, said the Obiano administration decided to phase out Okada operations in Awka and Onitsha, to economically empower the operators and quicken the process of turning the state into a modern place like Dubai.
“A situation where some members of the public have been made to believe that they cannot rise beyond the level of Okada riders is unfair and offends good conscience. Obiano wants commercial motorcyclists to get to the next level by becoming bus owners,” the commissioner noted.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Okada Riders Association in the state, Jude Udegbe, described the empowerment scheme “as another evidence of Obiano’s humane nature” while the Chairman of the state branch of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Jerry Nnubia, called it a welcome development “which has the potential to improve the lives of Okada operators and reduce the crime rate in our state.”
Regardless, Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Biafra Independent Movement (BIM), yesterday protested in Onitsha over the Okada ban.
Commercial cyclist members of MASSOB and BIM, who gathered on Old Market Road, Onitsha, with placards of various inscriptions, accused the state government of using the ban on motorcycles to finally crush the pro-Biafran movement despite their support for the governor’s re-election.