Abia State Government has stated that it has no plan to ban the operation of tricycles (Keke NAPEP) in the state. This was made known by the state commissioner for information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, during a chat with newsmen at Aba.
He dismissed the rumor making the rounds that with the introduction of “Abia Easy Taxi Scheme” in Umuahia the state government is planning to ban the operation of commercial tricycles in the state.
According to him, “We consider the operation of commercial tricycles an integral part of our ever improving transport system in the state and we have no plan to ban or restrict their operations to rural areas as being rumored. We believe they render essential services to a key segment of commuters in the state just like taxis and buses operating within the state also serve other different segments”.
He called on Keke operators and members of the public to ignore the rumors which according to him “must have emanated from desperate political actors in the state who are intimidated by the widely acclaimed top performance of the Ikpeazu administration and have since resorted to spreading unfounded rumors, falsehood and propaganda to pit the government against the hardworking and appreciative people of the state”.
He however appealed to the operators to conduct their businesses within the ambits of the law to ensure that criminal elements do not use their Keke to perpetuate crimes in the state.
