Anambra government approves single IGR ticket for tricycle operators

Anambra State government has approved a single Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) ticket for tricycle operators in the state.

This comes as the state branch of the Nigeria Labour Congress has urged the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission to promptly issue implementation table and circular for the newly approved minimum wage for workers.

The single IGR ticket is the unification of all the multiple tickets issued to tricycle operators in the state.

The sale of the ticket would take effect when the ban on sales of tickets would be lifted by the state government.

Commissioner for Transport, Uchenna Okafor, announced this during a meeting with Tricycle Operators on Friday in Awka.

He said that the single ticket would help curb touting, faking of tickets and extortion of riders in the state.

“As soon as government introduces a single ticket for motorcycle riders, there will no longer be any issues of fake ticketing. The motorcycle operators are well-organised because they are led by their unit heads and taskforce that implement government directives,” Okafor said.

“Based on this, the ministry will recognise the unit heads of tricycle riders in their various locations. The unit heads will form their taskforce that will ensure that the riders adhere to government directive, so as to check all illegalities.”

The commissioner said that the single ticket would be used in any part of the state and purchased once daily, noting that the purchase would also be digitised.

“There will be bio-metric capturing of operators and their owners in the state,’’ he added.

“And if an owner sacks his rider and gets another one, the new one will not be qualified to ply on the state roads except he undergoes bio-metric capturing,’’ Okafor affirmed.

He explained that all data would be forwarded to the Board of Internal Revenue and Security Agencies for security purposes.

Jerry Nnubia, Chairman of the NLC in Anambra, made the call for the minimum wage action table after he was re-elected to pilot the affairs of the union in the state in Awka on Thursday.

Nnubia said the quick release of the implementation template would enable state governors to effect the payment of the new scale without further delay.

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He commended the National Assembly and President Muhammadu Buhari for passage and signing of the National Minimum Wage (2019) Repeal Amendment Bill.

He commended also Gov. Willie Obiano for his commitment to paying workers in Anambra the new minimum wage.

“We therefore, wish to use this platform to call on the NSIWC to immediately issue the implementation table/circular to enable our amiable and labour-friendly governor who has already firmly promised to be the first to pay the new minimum wage, implement it for workers in the state,” he said.