Commercial tricyclists operating within Warri and Edjeba on Thursday lamented over multiple daily levies, police harassment, and rising tricycle costs from touts, as they urged Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, to intervene and ease their burden.
Our correspondent, who went into town to monitor the activities of the tricyclists, gathered that some of them, in separate interviews, described how ticketing, intimidation by security agencies, and skyrocketing tricycle prices are affecting their transportation businesses and livelihoods.
They also rejected attempts by unions to introduce new compulsory levies, including baskets and aprons.
According to them, they pay a daily ticket fee of ₦300 to avoid harassment from local touts.
While they admitted the levies offered some protection from street boys, they lamented that the collections amount to huge sums by the end of the year.
Mr. Lucky Inweh, a marine engineer turned tricyclist who has been in the business for five years, said, *“I want the government to reduce the ticket price because it adds up to a huge amount yearly.
“They tried to force us to buy baskets, but we refused. That issue is resurfacing again, and I don’t want government to approve it.”*
Mr. Benson Henry, who started riding in 2018, said, “Even if they don’t reduce the ₦300 ticket, they should cancel the basket and apron plan. That’s just another burden.”
The riders reserved their harshest criticism for the police, Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), and traffic enforcement teams such as the Delta State Traffic Management Authority (DESTMA).
They accused the agencies of setting traps and extorting them under false pretenses.
“The ‘Okowa Police’ hold us for parking wrongly, even when we didn’t, and demand huge sums. Sometimes they take our Keke to the station, forgetting we are struggling.”
Mr. Micheal Lagosman, who plies different routes daily, called them “money mongers.”
“VIO and the yellow-fever police are not doing their job diligently. They set traps to collect money from us as though we are looting millions. Government should remove them from the road.”
Another tricyclist, Mr. Ejiro Michael Umukoro, said experience has taught him how to avoid some of the tricks.
In his words, “I know their devices now, but new riders suffer more. DESTMA even fines us for stopping to drop passengers on roads without proper bus stops or ‘No Parking’ signs.”
Beyond tickets and harassment, Henry highlighted the spiraling price of tricycles as a major crisis.
According to him, “When I started, a Keke was ₦500,000. Now it sells between ₦4.5 million to ₦7 million, with daily balance of ₦12,000. The price is worse than fuel. The governor should visit depots and regulate the cost.”
All four riders urged Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to clamp down on extortion and address ticketing and pricing issues.
“Remove the Okowa Police, VIO, DESTMA and the rest. They are after money, not work,” Umukoro said.
Lagosman insisted that, “The governor should caution these agencies. They’re making life difficult for us.”
As of press time, efforts to reach the Delta State Ministry of Transport and tricycle union officials for comment were unsuccessful.
