“Claims that we Charge Riders #10,000 per Jacket are False, We Have No Problem With Our Riders” _ANNEWATT Chair

 “Claims that we Charge Riders #10,000 per Jacket are False, We Have No Problem With Our Riders” _ANNEWATT Chair

 

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Elamah Jimoh Shuaib, chairman of ANNEWATT, the umbrella body responsible for unions of riders in Edo North has stated emphatically stated that authorities of the body have no problems with its members.

Responding to Thursday’s protest staged by some riders at Bata Shop in Auchi, the chairman stated that the few riders who embarked on that event are riders who are sponsored by persons who benefitted from the multiple tax administration  of the same riders before the coming of the Government of Governor Godwin Obaseki. He reported that before now Okada Riders were multi-taxed by various unions but the governor decided that there should be an umbrella body responsible for harmonizing the activities of the riders as well as ensuring a level of regulation through registration and enforcing of a unified tax administration that will not only benefit the riders but more so, their clients.

It was also gathered that hitherto the current administration, majority of the existing unions of riders had no license to operate. A bike rider was made to purchase multiple tickets amounting to #270 daily and such monies were collected and not remitted to the government and that is about the reason for the creation of ANNEWATT to be in charge of collection and remittances to the government on behalf of all the unions under its umbrella.

Responding to claims by Thursday’s protesters about the exorbitant sales of Riders’ jackets for #10,000, the chairman stated that it was not only a lie to make such claims but that it was an illogical postulation by the few who do not want to be regulated under ANNEWATT and thus decided to recruit deviants to misinform unsuspecting publics using the ongoing heated polity of the #endSARS season. He explained that ANNEWATT has a mandate to ensure that all riders in its jurisdiction are registered and can be digitally tracked with technology.

“Some persons do not want the current order of things regarding the administration of the Unions of Riders under ANNEWATT. This is for obvious reasons that monies are no longer collected by hand and unaccounted for.

Elamah J. Shuaib (EWLG ANNEWATT Chairman)

Before, the riders were made to pay for a lot of tickets amounting to #270 but all these have changed and riders now queue up at the office here to pay #150 and these taxes are transmitted into the government account from which the government pay salaries and put other amenities in place.

That we collect #10,000 is a big lie. What we’ve ensured that what every rider must do to be registered and certified both at the union and ANNEWATT levels is that the rider must register under a union with a fee of #1000, register with ANNEWATT with a fee of #1000, pay for the body’s ID card at a fee of #1000 and buy the Body’s Jacket at #2,500 only. All these amount to #5,500 only and it’s a one-time payment except for the ID card which is renewable every 2years as agreed by all riders.”

The Chairman revealed that every duly registered rider is issued an identification number with which such rider can be accessed whenever the need be. This he said was for the security of riders’ clients as well as for the riders themselves in case of circumstances beyond the riders’ immediate control. Demonstrating the effectiveness of the tracking app, he extracted a rider’s ID Number as printed on ANNEWATT’s Jackets, opened the app on his phone and dialed the number. This revealed the biometrics of the rider displaying his photograph, contact address and other vital info. He then called the contact number of the rider to authenticate the process before Enaholo J.K.

He stated however, that a few riders do not want to be tracked and that’s not possible because the current administration does not wish for its people to be carried or left in the hands of unidentified persons in the guise of Okada Riders. The chairman again stated that the Government is putting measures in place to ensure that the masses too can have the mobile app downloaded on their mobile devices so that they can access these riders before patronizing them in order to reduce the crime rate that could be perpetrated by people who are not registered riders.

He advised that the people who patronize the riders must as a precautionary measure ensure that the rider they wish to patronize is wearing a jacket with the ANNEWATT ID number. He advised all to note these numbers for their safety.

Responding to what measures have been put in place to reconcile those who staged the Thursday’s protest that was dispersed by soldiers with the union, the chairman stated that the issue has been tabled before Etsako West LGA authorities who have weighed in on the issue to bring about a lasting solution.