The Government of Kwara State has revealed that it will soon begin to collect road taxes from okada operators in the state.

This was contained in a statement made available to The Switch Nigeria on Saturday.

According to the statement made available to news men on Saturday, the State Commissioner for Works, Suleiman Rotimi, said all factions of Okada unions in the state would henceforth be compelled to operate using a single uniform.

The commissioner explained further that, the new single uniform is necessary to provide security in the state, thereby screening out unscrupulous elements who use Okada for criminal purposes.

Rotimi added that the government would also introduce Identity Cards with barcodes for riders in the state.

“The commissioner mentioned that as part of the strategy to improve security, a censor of all Okada riders would be conducted and population of registered Okada riders would be ascertained.

“Equally, the commissioner stresses the need for road tax payment and urged the riders to fashion out a realistic amount and mode of collection.”

In his response, the President of the Joint Okada Union, Mr Ajewole Gabriel, expressed the union’s readiness to abide by the single uniform, road tax payment and ID cards with bar codes mulled by the government.

He urged the Ministry to check the influx of Illegal Okada operators in Tanke Oke-Odo and other areas as this is the only way to prevent criminals from infiltrating the state.