Rivers
Nigerians Kick Over Planned Ban On Commercial Motorcycles
Stakeholders have expressed concern over plan by the Federal Government to ban the operation of commercial motorcycles across the country.
They appealed to government to provide alternative means of livelihood to commercial motorcycle operators before banning the use.
The people expressed their concern in separate interviews with The Tide’s source in the South-South.
They said that the ban would cause more hardship to Nigerians, especially those in the rural areas, who depended on motorcycles as the only means of transport due to the deplorable condition of roads.
The respondents urged government to restrict the ban to cities and areas bedeviled by terrorism and banditry.
The source recalls that few weeks ago, the Federal Government announced that it was considering a ban on the use of commercial motorcycles across the country.
Government’s intention was informed by the massive deployment of motorbikes by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers in their criminal activities.
Mr Isreal Promise said in Port Harcourt that government should provide an alternative means of livelihood for commercial motorcyclists before banning the operation.
“We know about the insecurity in the north and other parts of the country. We understand that bandits and terrorists operate more with bikes.
“In most states, robbery and kidnapping in the rural areas are done with bikes and tricycles.
“But if there are other alternative means that government will put in place to help people in moving to their places or business, the ban can be effective,” he said.
He said stopping the use of motorcycles without providing alternative means of livelihood would cause massive unemployment and increase insecurity in the country.
Supporting his stance,a clergy, Paul Achiubo, said “most roads in the rural areas of the country are not motorable, only bikes can be used on such roads.”
Another Port Harcout resident, Mrs Blessing Godwin, called for proper monitoring of motorcycle riders to prevent them from committing crimes with motorcycles.
In Calabar, Mr Gill Nsa, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River Council, said an outright ban on commercial motorcycles in Nigeria might backfire.
Nsa said although there were serious security concerns in the nation aggravated by the increased use of commercial motorcycles, the welfare of the users should also be considered.
“An outright ban will affect ordinary Nigerians who need bikes to enter areas that are not motorable and those that use it as a source of livelihood.
“I have seen people who grew from being commercial motorcyclists to buying their own taxis and commercial buses.
“If government imposes a total ban, many people will be pushed into crime; there must be a balance to this.
“I think the ban should be in the cities, but in the rural areas where people know one another and can easily identify strangers, commercial motorcyclists should be allowed to operate,” he said.
On her part, Mrs Theresa Akpan, a civil servant, said before any ban on commercial motorcycle, there should be an alternative source of livelihood for people in the business.
According to her, government should know that commercial motorcyclists are not the cause of insecurity in Nigeria and fight the root causes.
“Already it is difficult to feed. Many of the riders are educated with degrees but there are no other jobs for them or loans from government to enable them to start other businesses.
“Our roads are bad; there are many communities in this country that you can access with only motorcycles. So government should think critically before effecting any nationwide ban,” she said.
A trader at the popular Marian Market, Calabar, Mr Adam Ekong, said the proposed ban was proper because it would improve security.
He, however, added that it shoud be restricted to areas experiencing insurgency and banditry.
For Mr Osagie Osayande, the Planning Officer in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Council of Edo State, commercial motorcycle riding is the major means of transportation in rural areas.
“The ban will affect movement, especially transportation of farm produce from one location to another. It will also render many commercial motorcyclists jobless and increase crime rate,” he said.
Another respondent, Mrs Jenifer Idemudia of Nigeria Correctional Service, Edo State Command, said motorcycles had generated employment for millions of citizens.
According to her, there are plants in the country where motorcycles are assembled after being imported.
She further said some factories locally manufactured the plastic components of motorcycles, using local rubber from different states, including Edo.
On his part, Mr Felix Azibaola, Chairman, Tricycle Riders Association, Bayelsa State, also said in Yenagoa that government should provide alternative means of livelihood for commercial motorcyclists before the ban.
He said commercial motorcycles gradually gained acceptance as a result of inadequate transport facilities and bad state of roads in the country, especially in the hinterland.
A respondent in Uyo, Mr Patrick Titus, described the intended ban as a bad economic policy, saying that majority of the commercial motorcyclists earned their living from the operation.
Titus added that the proposed ban would not be in the best interest of the people as a many Nigerians used motorcycles as means of transportation.
He said that motorcycle riding for commercial purposes had reduced unemployment in the country.
“If we have people who are using motorcycles for dubious activities, there are still people using them for good economic purposes.
“If government does not have alternative means to convey people in rural areas to their different locations, then the ban will have a very serious economic implications across the country,” he added.
A civil servant in Asaba, Mr. Steve Oboko, said rather than ban commercial motorcycles, government should think of ways to regulate the operators for effecient and secured services.
“If you take look at this ‘okada’ business in our society today, you will agree with me that it is a booming business venture.
“We are talking of a business that has engaged milliions of men – young and old – and provided means of livelihood to many families.
“If you ask me, “okada” operations is not the security problem facing Nigeria. So, why sacrifice the business for nothing?
“So, putting an end to such business will have serious economic and security implications on many families and the society in general,” Oboko said.
Judges of the High Court Port Harcourt Rivers state will on Monday July 21, 2025 commence this year’s annual vacation.
The State Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi in a statement signed by the Chief Registrar High Court Port Harcourt, David Ihua_ Maduenyi (esq) made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt over the weekend, said that the 2025 annual vacation for judges of the State High Court will begin on Monday, July 21, 2025 and end on Wednesday ,September 17, 2025
The statement said the vacation is in pursuant to Order 49, Rule 4 (d) of High Court of Rivers State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2023, as altered, adding that all the judicial divisions of the State High Court shall remain closed during the period of the vacation.
The statement further disclosed that normal court sessions will resume on Thursday 18, July 2025 across all the divisions.
The statement however, noted that during the period, a vacation judge shall be appointed by the chief judge to sit on urgent matters and applications and advice litigants and lawyers to take notice of the information.
The International Federation Of Women Lawyers,(FIDA )in collaboration with the Police Community Relations Committee,(PCRC ) have held a one day training on paralegal exposure aimed at equipping police officers across the Rivers state police command on ways of handling gender based violence cases in the state.
The one-day capacity training workshop organised by the two humanitarian organisations in the state, the FIDA and PCRC was designed to boost the knowledge and capacity of the police echelons in the state on how to deal with gender” based violence cases reported in there various Divisions and areas.
Speaking at the event held at the police officers mess in Port Harcourt, yesterday, the state Commissioner of Police ,CP Olugbenga Adepoju emphasized the importance of capacity building for Police Officers, stressing the need for continuous training and development for the officers to stay abreast of emerging trends and best practices in law enforcement.
Adepoju noted the police have being having lectures like this from time to time as directed by the Inspector General of Police and urge the police officers to turn out in their numbers to come and gain one thing or the other.
“There is nothing as good as building our capacity to ensure we deliver service to mankind and let Rivers be a different. to others.
“We have people who have the capacity that can deliver and they are here with us. And we will not hesitate to ensure we employ and use them. What ever we have learnt here, jot it down and ensure you use it judiciously”.
Also speaking, the Chairperson of FIDA Rivers, Life Jim George stressed that
the paralegal training offers the opportunity where retired Police officers, desk officers and different division in charge of gender based crime are assembled to educate them on how to handle with the gender violence and abused public ,how to deal with reporters of all kinds of Gender Based Violence.
“They need to be empathetic, they need not to judge them as they move into them. They need not to throw them away immediately or to make the atmosphere very toxic so that they will just go away and at the end of the day extort them and make known that Police is not your friend is only in the book””.
“We remind you all that you are not just a Police officer,there is a duty imposed on you to look at the laws. Not just to drive people away because We have reports where, once you approach a Police station and say my husband or wife beat me up,they drive you away, please madam this one is husband and wife matter, go and settle with your husband or wife. They began to judge you.”
“We are saying no,that is not what the law is.
Please show empathy, if you throw them away like that, most of them can take their life. Some go into third degree depression and is difficult to bring them out.They will now began to blame themselves for going to the Police station.
In his speech,the Chairman of PCRC in the state, Mr Voke Emore explained that One primary responsibilities of the PCRC is to bring the community closer to the Police, while FIDA as an international organization cares for the less privilege and handle cases involving women and children.
“The police only protect women and children in talking of gender abuse in the society rather taking the issue of gender violence as wholistic that includes men,women and children in every strata of the society.So that is the essence why the two humanitarian organisations ,FIDA and PCRC decided to partner to ensure that the things are done rightly in line with global practices.”
“And the only way to do that is to give training We always talk about training and re-training of Police officers.he stated.
The training focused on key areas such as
The Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Rivers State,
Dehumanizing and Harmful Traditional Practices Laws,
Prohibition of the Curtailment of Women’s Rights to Share in Family Property Law and
Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law amongst others.
The Rivers State University (RSU), Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, has unveiled a new feature – Student-Sponsor Account, called SponsorsLink as part of its ongoing re-engineering efforts. This innovation is to address the problems of students collecting funds but not paying fees, leaving school but still pretending to be in school and inability of parents, guardians and sponsors to ascertain progress and performance of their children, wards and beneficiaries.
The platform is also designed to strengthen transparency, accountability, and communication between students and their parents, guardians and sponsors.
SponsorsLink is available on the university’s portal (www.rsu.edu.ng) and offers a range of benefits. Sponsors can track academic performance, monitor outstanding fees, make payments, and access detailed student profiles from a single dashboard. This centralized system ensures that sponsors are no longer left in the dark regarding the academic and financial status of their wards.
To utilize SponsorsLink, sponsors need to create an account on the RSU eCampus platform. This involves selecting a sponsorship type, filling out a registration form, and verifying their email address using a confirmation code. Upon successful registration, sponsors pay a one-time onboarding fee based on the number of wards they intend to manage.
Once registered, sponsors can add a ward by searching with the student’s registration number, matriculation number, or full name. After the student approves the request, the sponsor gains access to various features. These include checking results, which requires a result-checking fee, viewing student profiles, and making tuition or related payments directly through the platform.
The introduction of SponsorsLink demonstrates RSU’s commitment to enhance the educational experience of students. This initiative is expected to foster better communication between students, sponsors, and the university, ultimately contributing to the success of RSU students.
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