Kwara govt urges transport unions to strengthen security vigilance
The Kwara State Government has urged transport unions across the state to intensify security vigilance among their members to prevent criminal elements from exploiting the transportation sector.
The State Commissioner for Transportation, Lafia Aliyu Korasabi, made the call on Tuesday during a consultative meeting on security matters organised at the ministry’s headquarters in Ilorin.
The meeting brought together government officials, security agencies, the State Security Consultative Council on Community Policing and executives of various transport unions to discuss strategies for addressing security threats linked to transportation and ensuring compliance with government regulations.
Korasabi highlighted the ongoing data-capturing exercise for motorcycle operators, saying it was designed to strengthen security and prevent insurgents and other non-state actors from using transportation businesses to perpetrate criminal activities.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to maintaining a safer and more peaceful state.
The commissioner also commended the Community Policing Council for its collaboration with the ministry, describing the engagement as timely and commendable.
He stressed the need for commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators to comply strictly with the approved operating hours of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., effective immediately.
Korasabi added that the government would intensify efforts to introduce uniform identification codes for commercial motorcycle operators across the state’s local government areas.
Speaking at the meeting, the National President of Community Policing, retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police Baba Adisa Bolanta, emphasised the importance of collective action in tackling insecurity.
Bolanta urged residents to discard the belief that security was solely the responsibility of government, noting that protecting lives and property required the participation of all citizens.
He described transportation as a vital part of the state’s economy, noting that motorcycles and tricycles provide essential mobility across communities. He, however, stressed the need for effective monitoring of their operations to prevent criminals from exploiting the sector.
While supporting the data-capturing exercise, Bolanta called for a clearly defined timeframe for its completion. He also urged relevant regulatory agencies to begin enforcing the approved operating hours and work towards implementing uniform identification codes for motorcycle and tricycle operators.
Also speaking, the Deputy National President of State Community Policing and former Director of the State Security Service, Dr Abdulsalam S. Babatunde, expressed concern over what he described as lapses in the leadership of motorcycle operators regarding compliance with government directives.
He urged transport unions to ensure that their members complied fully with the state’s data-capturing policy and other applicable regulations.
Babatunde also warned that security concerns in neighbouring states required increased vigilance among transport operators and other stakeholders in Kwara. He called on them to remain alert and work together to prevent the spread of insecurity.
The Senior Special Adviser on Security, Muyideen Aliyu, commended transport unions for cooperating with the government to promote peace and security.
Aliyu urged the Ministry of Transportation to expedite the establishment of a task force to enforce the relevant regulations.
He also called for adequate public sensitisation and the issuance of public notices to ensure that transport operators and residents understood the applicable rules and their enforcement.
In addition, he encouraged union leaders to promote personal hygiene, neatness and decent dressing among their members while sustaining their support for the government’s efforts to maintain a peaceful environment.
In his vote of thanks, the ministry’s Director of Personnel, Finance and Supply, Tajudeen Onikoko, commended state executives, government officials, security agencies and transport stakeholders for their collective efforts to develop preventive measures against insecurity.
The state chairmen of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, AbdulRahman Olayinka Onikijipa, and the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Abdulrasaq Ariwoola, pledged their unions’ support for the government’s policies.
Similarly, the State Chairman of the Motorcycle Operators Union of Nigeria, Azeez Tinuola, provided an update on members’ compliance with the ongoing data-capturing exercise.
Tinuola assured the government that the union would sustain and improve compliance, acknowledging identified lapses and pledging to address them.
The transport union representatives also assured the meeting that they would intensify efforts to implement the government’s recommendations in the interest of public safety and the well-being of residents.
