Tricycle owners battle for control of lagos parks

An organization representing tricycle
owners has alleged a plot by a rival group to
illegally take over parks in the Lagos State.
The Tricycle Owners and Operators Association
of Nigeria (TOOAN) Chairman, Joseph
Odusanya, said there was thus an urgent need
to alert the Lagos State Government on the
plans by some “unscrupulous people to create
serious pandemonium and anarchy at tricycle
parks in the state.”
He alleged that a “strange” association known
as Tricycle Owners and Drivers Association of
Lagos State (TODAL), led by the State
Caretaker Chairman of the Road Transport
Employers Association on Nigeria (RTEAN),
Mohammed Musa, had already forcefully
taken over TOOAN parks in Iba and Oto-Awori,
as well as Ojo Local Government Area.
“As law abiding citizens of Nigeria we have
instructed our members to be calm and avoid
any violent confrontation despite the
unwarranted provocations. They have
continued to threaten our lives and intimidate
us with a particular police officer who claimed
to be a brother to the outgoing Inspector
General of police, Muhammed Abubakar,”
alleged Odusanya as he addressed journalists
in Lagos.
He added, “The state Commissioner for
Transportation, Kayode Opeifa in response to
our petition, coupled with the state
government’s zero tolerance for violence had
written the State Commissioner of Police,
Umar Manko, confirming our association which
is an affiliate of the National Union of Road
Transport Workers, NURTW as the one
recognized by the state government.”
Tricycles popularly called Keke NAPEP , are
becoming a major means of transportation in
the state. They have have become a reliable
shuttle due to the ever present gridlock on
Lagos roads.