By Anayo Okoli

UMUAHIA—Over 2,000 ommercial tricycle (Keke) operators, yesterday, shut down Umuahia, Abia State capital, over what they termed “high-handedness and too many fees” imposed on them by the state government

The operators, under the aegis of Tricycle Operators Association, caused traffic gridlock for over three hours as they blocked the busy Abia Tower roundabout, which links the busy Aba, Umuawaya and Bende roads in Umuahia metropolis.

Being a major means of transportation in the metropolis, passengers, especially civil servants, were stranded as the union ensured that no operator worked.

According to the operators, government was excessively taxing them, as they are made to pay multiple fees for sundry purposes, including emblems, sanitation, among others, which they said “was choking them.”

One of the operators, who gave his name as Amadi, said: “At every point you pay a toll, and there are too many fees to be paid in a day by each Keke operator.

“Some of us collected the Keke on hire-purchase arrangement, and if you are not able to remit the required amount to the owner you will be branded a cheat. The charges are becoming unbearable.”

Another operator, Mr. Monarch Eze, said: “We are fed up with too many fees and toll being collected by the state government in the face of the hard economic situation. We cannot continue like this; it is choking us.”

According to Eze, as if the multiple levies were not enough, government has introduced new numbering system, which he said would invalidate the old numbering.

He said: “We used to pay N3,700 to register our Keke for operation, but now they have increased it to N4,200 and it will expire after six months.

“Worst still, if you pay N4,200, they will issue you a receipt bearing only N500. And we are asking, what is wrong with the old numbering?”

Attempts to get the Commissioner for Transport, Mrs. Nnenna Obewu-Onwuka, to react failed as a source in her office said she travelled to her village for August Meeting.