Akure, the Ondo state capital was shut down Thursday morning, by protesting commercial motorcycle riders who barricaded the major highway leading to the city.
The cyclists, popularly called ‘okada riders’ took to the streets as early as six in the morning with their bikes forcing some pedestrians to trek to their places of work, as commercial cabs too withdrew their services to avoid being attacked.It was gathered that the commercial cyclists were protesting the proposal by the state government to stop some of them whose motorcycles carried plate numbers other than those issued in the state from operating.
Investigations revealed that following complaints that motorcycle plate numbers issuance in the state range from between eight to ten thousand naira at the Board of Internal Revenue, operators decided to obtain plate numbers from neighbouring states especially Lagos where they can get same for as low as four thousand naira.
