Chinwendu Obienyi
In a bid to address safety and security concerns, while providing decent working conditions for essential transport operators, the Ekiti State government has entered into a partnership with Metro Africa Xpress (MAX.ng), a leading mobility platform focused on Nigeria and West Africa.
This was even as the state government deployed MetroGov, a secure urban mobility platform that uses next-generation technology to provide identity management, remote monitoring, crime prevention, digital payments, and financial audit solutions. The state has an estimated population of 3 million people and over 100,000 motorcycle and tricycle operators across the state. As part of the recently launched Ekiti State Mobility Transformation Project (ESMOT), the state aims to formalise the transportation industry while delivering safety, security, insurance, vehicle financing and other essential support services to transport operators.
Speaking at the IRS Office in Ekiti State, the Chairman of the Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service, Eleazar Ogunmilade, stated that the partnership would provide the Government with more actionable intelligence that would be extremely helpful for policy formulation for the industry at large.
“Apart from improving security and transparency, we have engaged with relevant authorities and interest groups and they have expressed their commitment to the new system as they agree this would guarantee the safety of our citizens, and would deliver improved services to both transport operators and commuters”, Ogunmilade said.
Speaking at the Government House in Ado-Ekiti, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Investment, Trade and Innovation, Akintunde Oyebode, indicated that the initiative was developed to address the issues of safety, security and operator identification in the state. He added that ESMOT would ensure the proper registration and licensing of all transport operators.
“As part of the initiative, the Ekiti state government will require all motorcycle and tricycle operators within the state to undergo onboarding within the stipulated and approved time-frame”, he explained.