Mustapha, a tricycle rider, presently stays at a tricycle park with his wife and one-month-old baby.
According to him, he had to move out of his rented apartment because he could not afford to pay his rents.
He said he got his tricycle, popularly called keke NAPEP, on hire purchase and delivered an agreed amount of N2,000 daily.
He said, “I borrowed an additional N30, 000 to register with the riders association here in Ikeja.”
However, Mustapha’s problems seemed far from over as he told PUNCH Metro that while he was struggling to pay back his debt, he was also paying other illegal fees charged by the association and law enforcement agencies in the state.
“I am paying a daily fee of N1, 300 to the association, without which I will not be able to operate. The police and the Lagos State Transport Management Authority also collect from me.”
“Now, it is difficult to feed my family, meet up with the delivery for my tricycle, pay the daily charges from our association and also bribe law enforcement agencies.”
Mustapha’s plight is the plight of every commercial transport operator in Lagos State. They are at the mercies of legal and illegal authorities in the state which extort them at will.
Ebuka, another tricycle operator plying the Ojo-Iyana-Iba route in Lagos said he and his colleagues paid N1, 000 daily.
He said, “We pay N600 for tickets and we are issued two tickets, but N100 is written on the tickets. We also pay N200 for morning booking and another N200 for afternoon booking.”
When asked where the balance of N400 went since they were issued N200 worth of tickets for N600, he said, “I don’t know. Nobody has been bold enough to ask. I feel the money goes into private pockets.”
He added that the extortion was negatively affecting his ability to make any meaningful achievement from the business.
A commercial bus driver, who identified himself simply as Ugo, said, “Commercial bus drivers in Lagos pay all sorts of fees. If you pick and drop passengers at any junction, you will be asked to pay N50 or N100 or even more.
“Those are for the road transport unions alone. The police collect theirs too. LASTMA is not an exception. At the end of the day, one is left with nothing, especially if the bus you are operating does not belong to you and you have to make delivery to the owner.”
Emma, a bus conductor, said, “From Alaba International market to Mile 2, we pay close to N1, 000. In Alaba alone, we pay N200 for ticket, N100 for loading and another N100 for booking. When we get to Volks (Volkswagen bus stop), we pay another N100. Other payment points are Barracks bus stop, under bridge, Alakija, First gate, Maza maza and Mile 2.
“In all these bus stops, we pay between N50 and N100, depending on your bargaining skills. We pay to both uniformed people and the association touts.”
When he was asked to name the uniformed men, he said, “You know them yourself. Don’t you know LASTMA, NURTW or policemen when you see them?”
Officials of the Lagos State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers could not be reached for comments when PUNCH Metro correspondent visited their state secretariat, but a member of the union executives, who does not want his name in print, explained that the fees the members pay were to support the activities of the union.
He said, “This union has an established and organised system. The said charges you are talking about are strictly union affairs.
“Apart from protecting the interest of our members, we also stand as surety for them to obtain buses and tricycles on hire purchase agreement. People who wish to invest in transport business come to us and we get them drivers to operate their vehicles. If the person disappears, it is the union that takes responsibility for the debt.
“The idea that road transport unions just collect money is totally false, we are accountable to our members and they see what their money is being used for.”
The LASTMA CEO, Young Arabamen could not be reached for comment as one of his aides, who answered his phone, said he was in a meeting.
The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Lelma Kolle, did not pick calls made to his telephone lines. He replied a text message sent to him, saying he was in a meeting and promised to get back to our correspondent. He had yet to do so as of press time
The Public Relations Officer, LASTMA, Mrs. Bola Ajao, could not be reached for comment. However, an official in the agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “LASTMA is well funded by the government, so there is no reason for us to either extort motorists directly, or do so by proxy. Anybody that claims to be collecting money for us should be arrested.”
