Kano tricycle operators call off strike — but state assembly lament their drug abuse

Tricycle operators and the Kano State Roads and Traffic Agency (KAROTA) have reached an agreement to end the three days strike after the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) waded into the standoff.

Kabiru Ado Minjibir, chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Kano chapter, said all tricycles riders are to pay N100 daily tax as provided by the state revenue board’s laws.

He said the tricycle riders will only make a daily payment and that the yearly payment will be of their own free will.

Baffa Babba Danagundi, managing director of KAROTA, said the government has accepted the resolution and is ready to work with it.

The tricycle operators had embarked on a three days strike in protest of the N100 daily tax imposed by the Kano state government.

Meanwhile, the Kano state house of assembly had earlier said the tricycle riders operate under the influence of drugs.

Garba Ya’u-Gwarmai, a member representing Kunchi/Tsanyawa constituency in the state, said the tricycle operators are lawbreakers, indisciplined and disrespectful.

Ya’u-Gwarmai said: “The cause of their strike, which is the issue of tax collection, is not a thing of concern compared to what other states like Kaduna, Lagos and other states are paying.

“And the tax, if collected, the government uses it for the development of the state, which the tricycle operators also enjoy the presence of such projects in the state.

“As you are aware, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the revenue collection in the state, the developmental programmes of the state government still continued.

“Therefore, the state government should provide an alternative to ensure that the operation of tricycle operators is being regulated and controlled. And also their mode of dress should be addressed.

“The operators’ mode of dressing should be looked at because most of them dress indecently, they are under age and operate under drug influence.

“They should also be stopped from operating on the highways so as to avoid the loss of lives as it has been recorded when they are working on the highways.”

The house of assembly called on the state government to order KAROTA to stop further registration of tricycle operators in the state, saying they are too many.