Minibus drivers, popularly referred to as ‘Korope’, have protested over the multiple levies imposed on them by transport union workers, also known as agberos.
The drivers, operating along the Mowe-Ibafo-Arepo areas of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, expressed their grievances at the Ministry of Transportation, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta on Tuesday.
DAILY POST observed that the protesters who sang solidarity songs carried placards bearing inscriptions such as “Korope drivers say no to multiple tickets”, “Governor Abiodun come to our aid”, “Say no to extortion”, “Agberos are killing us with multiple levies” among others.
The protesters while bemoaning the current economic hardship , stated that these levies are compounding their economic woes.
A representative of the drivers, Abiodun Owolabi told DAILY POST that about eight tickets amounting to about N8,000 are paid every day.
Owolabi “ We have a lot of complain and it includes the outrageous hike in ticket prices, they keep increasing the ticket prices almost every week. We collect the ticket almost every bus stop or kilometer, we have about 10km from Mowe to Arepo or Simawa and we are collecting about eight tickets.
“If we are to collect all the money we spend together with the loading money and money for marker is around N7,000 to N8,000 every day. If we look at it with the new increase it’s around N10,000 to N11,000.
“ What we are getting is little and what we are giving out is much and this is affecting our income and gain per day” he added.
The drivers allegedly that the agberos when confronted said the order was from the Ministry of Transportation, hence, the protest.
“ The funny thing is that they will tear the ticket in four places and we have all this evidence, the economy is not smiling and when we complained they claim that the order is from the Ministry of Transportation that’s why we are here today. They said the increase is from the governor”
Moses Prosper, one of the aggrieved drivers disclosed that he has been rendered jobless following the hike and begged governor Dapo Abiodun to come to his aid.
“We even pay a sum of N200 each day for the marker they use, they collect money for king of boys and even for chairman card. It is very bad. My vehicle is no longer with me, my boss said I can’t meet up with the payment.
“My children are in school I can’t even afford to buy their books. I am working like an elephant but eating like an ant. Please governor Dapo Abiodun and Ministry of Transportation help us out, rescue us the agberos are too much” he cried.
They called for a one ticket issuance to cover their trip and expressed believe that governor Dapo Abiodun can help them achieve that.
“We know the government is the only person that can help us, we need their intervention we don’t want to become thugs. We want the governor to help us curb this excessive charges if possible they should remove the Agberos from the road”.
Addressing the protesters an official in the ministry advised the drivers to formalize the complain by writing a letter to the commissioner.
The official said he was not authorized to speak for the ministry, but assured them that the commissioner would address the complaints if they put it forward formally.