By Oke Uchechukwu

CALABAR- COMMERCIAL tricycle operators, otherwise known as Keke Napep, have threatened to withdraw their services from the Calabar metropolis citing alleged indiscriminate daily charges.

Speaking with Niger Delta Voice in Calabar, the operators decried the high cost of daily charges paid before obtaining tickets to operate.

One of the operators, who identified himself as Asuquo Etim said: “We pay N500 to the different government agencies as daily toll before we are allowed to operate within the metropolis. We are made to pay the Keke Union, Department of Public Transportation, DOPT, Ministry of Transport and Marine Services as well as the local government councils.

Obnoxious charges

Etim added: “We are also made to cough out N11,500 and N16,500 as registration for old and new Keke respectively. We also learned that the local government council is planning to introduce monthly dues of N500 per Keke. This may force us out of the road if the state government fails to stop such obnoxious charges.

Lamenting the arbitrary charges and the present fuel scarcity in the country, he said they might be compelled to stay off the road or increase transportation fare by 100 per cent.

Another operator, Michael Okon said fuel now costs between N150 and N200 per litre while they are still charging N50 per drop. This, according to him, is affecting their daily earning and returns to the owners of the tricycles, which majority of them obtained on hire purchase.

Okon noted with concern that in spite of all the charges they pay, their operations is not only limited to 8p.m., but also to certain routes and streets in the metropolis.
He said: “If we withdraw our services because of challenges we are facing, it is the commuters that will suffer, especially now that the rainy season is gradually setting in. So we are appealing to our listening and kind-hearted governor, Prof. Ben Ayade to save us from this exploitation before things get out of hand.

When contacted the Chairman of Keke Operators in the state, Etinyin Ewa, said those parading themselves as keke operators were hoodlums and criminals.

“All those people claiming to be Keke operators are all criminals because we and other stakeholders in the sector recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to harmonise all charges and levies concerning ticketing both in Calabar South and  Municipality,” he stated.
Ewa, who described the supposed Keke operators as miscreants, said they were not members of the union, adding “the union is not part of any plan by any group to withdraw their services.

“We stand by the MoU that we entered into with the government and the plan to ensure that every operator is properly identified is very vital. Those, who perpetrate atrocities with Keke, are the people behind the so called skirmishes,” he said.

“We want to sanitize the system by making sure only properly documented and identified people operate because a lot of miscreants have been using this means to rob people, but if there are plans by the local government council to bring up any other charges I am not aware of such,” he explained.

According to Ewa: “I was a Keke rider before becoming the Chairman and I understand all the challenges, which explained why the initial N15,000 collected for registration was reduced to N5,000 as contained in the MoU.”

Niger Delta Voice also learned that while the new rate for registration is now N5,000 and N10,000 for old and new tricycles respectively as stated in the MoU, some agencies have gone ahead to disregard the agreement.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity said though the Commercial Transport Regulatory Agency, CTRA, was mandated to collect only N10,000 and N5,000 for registration of new and old tricycle respectively, “they are stilling collecting N16,500 for new ones and N10,000 for old ones annually.

“Things are really bad, the chairman of that Agency should call his boys to order because he seems not be aware of the extortion operators go through in their hand. Apart from that they are usurping the functions of other agencies by checking things like fire extinguishers, brake lights as well as broken windscreens, which is not their responsibility and duty,” he noted.