MOTION ON THE NEED TO REDUCE DOUBLE TAXATION AND HARASSMENT FROM CYCLIST EMBLEM AND DAILY TICKET COLLECTION IN OGOJA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Sponsored by: Hon. Abuo James Odey
Councilor representing: Mbube West Ward 1, Ogoja LGA
Date: 20th August 2026

THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF OGOJA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, CROSS RIVER STATE

Mr. Leader, Honourable Colleagues, I am Hon Abuo James Odey, councilor representing Mbube West Ward 1

I rise today with a heavy heart but with great hope to move this motion of public importance on the need to reduce double taxation and harassment from Cyclist Emblem and Daily Ticket collection in Ogoja LGA.

Mr. Leader, we all know that Okada riders are the backbone of transportation in Ogoja Town, Mbube, Ekajuk, Ibil, infact across all our wards. They carry our mothers to market, our children to school, and our sick to the hospital. They are not just riders, they are breadwinners.

But today, these same breadwinners are being crushed.
A rider in Ogoja is made to pay Annual Cyclist Emblem and still pay Daily Ticket every single day he goes out. On top of that, he faces union dues, security levies, and harassment from touts who don’t even have LGA ID cards.

Let me put it in figures Mr. Leader:
If a rider pays ₦500 daily ticket + ₦5,000 yearly emblem, that’s over ₦180,000 in a year before fuel, before bike maintenance, before feeding his family. That is not revenue generation, that is oppression.

This dual payment is double taxation on the same business. It is illegal, it is unfair, and it is making transport expensive for our people.

Mr. Leader, the Taxes and Levies Act says government must harmonize taxes to avoid duplication. Our people are suffering. Some riders have parked their bikes. Some have left Ogoja. The rest are transferring the burden to passengers by increasing fares.

That is why I urge this Honourable House to support this motion.
Let us tell the Executive Chairman to harmonize Emblem and Daily Ticket into one payment.
Let us stop touts and only allow accredited agents.
Let us give our riders a 60-day relief to breathe.

If we do this, we will reduce hardship, reduce transport fares, and restore dignity to our Okada riders.

NOTING that Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended places the welfare and security of the people as the primary purpose of government;

AWARE that commercial cyclists, popularly called “Okada riders”, constitute a major source of transportation and livelihood for the people of Ogoja LGA;

CONCERNED that Okada riders in Ogoja Town, Mbube, Ekajuk and Ibil are currently subjected to payment for both Annual Cyclist Emblem and Daily Ticket, in addition to payments to unions and security levies on the same day;

FURTHER CONCERNED that the dual payment for Emblem and Daily Ticket amounts to double taxation on the same commercial activity, thereby increasing transport fares and hardship on commuters and riders;

DISTURBED that we have too many cyclist check points in the Urban (more than 10 points from Ndok to igoli) and the collection of these levies is often done by multiple agents, touts, and unauthorized persons leading to harassment, intimidation, and seizure of motorcycles;

RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:

This Honourable House hereby:

1. URGES the Executive Chairman of Ogoja LGA to harmonize the Cyclist Emblem and Daily Ticket into a single payment system, where riders who pay the annual emblem are exempted from daily ticket and only two checks points should be in the Urban (one at Urban 1 and one at Urban 2) or vice versa.
2. DIRECTS the Department of Revenue, Ogoja LGA to review and publish the official rates for cyclist emblem and daily ticket, and display them at all major parks in Ogoja.
3. MANDATES that only duly accredited revenue agents with LGA ID cards should be allowed to collect revenue, and that the activities of touts and illegal collectors be stopped immediately.
4. APPEALS to the Executive Chairman to grant a 60-day waiver/reduction on cyclist emblem fees to cushion the effect of fuel price and economic hardship on riders.
5. RESOLVES to constitute an Ad-hoc Committee on Revenue Harmonization to within 1 week interface with Ogoja Okada Riders Association, NURTW, and the Revenue Department and report back with recommendations.
6. CALLS ON the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies in Ogoja to arrest and prosecute anyone found collecting illegal levies from cyclists in the LGA.

Mr. Leader, I therefore move that this motion be adopted. I so move.

PRAYER
This Honourable House prays that certified copies of this motion be forwarded to:

1. The Executive Chairman, Ogoja LGA
2. The Chairman, Ogoja Okada Riders Association
3. The DPO, Ogoja Divisional Police Headquarters.

Mover: Hon. Abuo James Odey
Seconder: Hon. Edi Gabriel Jnr