- FCT Minister Nyesom Wike said the FCT Administration is considering banning Okada and Keke Napep in parts of Abuja
- Wike disclosed the move followed a Security Council meeting where intelligence reports linked motorcycles to criminal activities
- The minister warned a blanket ban across the entire FCT would be difficult to enforce due to the city’s size and transport needs
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has said the Federal Capital Territory Administration is weighing a ban on commercial motorcycles (Okada) and tricycles (Keke Napep) in certain parts of Abuja, citing mounting security threats linked to their use by criminal elements.
He further said he had signed an approval that same morning following a Security Council meeting where security agencies presented intelligence connecting motorcycles to bandit operations in the capital.
Source: Twitter
Wike made the disclosure during his monthly media chat on Tuesday, August 4, which was broadcast live on Channels TV.
Read also
Rivers crisis: Wike reveals why Fubara was blocked from seeking second term, video emerges
“Apart from this, as you know, just this morning, I signed approval after we had a Security Council meeting, where we agreed that, beyond constituting a nuisance, they have become a security threat. From our security reports, bandits, when they don’t act, they use motorcycles,” Wike said.
Wike: Why a full FCT ban is off the table
Despite the security concerns, the minister said imposing a territory-wide ban was not practical given Abuja’s size and the transportation demands of its population, Vanguard reported.
He said security agencies had been tasked with mapping out specific zones where the vehicles should no longer be permitted to operate.
“I’ve told the security agencies to map out areas where we do not need the Keke Napep and the motorcycle, but it will be difficult for you to ban them in the entire Abuja. But particularly, it is necessary within the city not to allow Keke Napep and the Okada. They are working that out,” he said.
Wike added that he had also approved the release of logistics to back the planned security operations.
Beggars returning after evacuation
The minister also addressed the persistent problem of street beggars in Abuja, saying removal efforts had produced only short-term results, with displaced individuals returning to the capital within weeks.
He said calls for the government to shelter and feed those evacuated were not sustainable, arguing that doing so would only draw more people from neighbouring states such as Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, and Kaduna, Punch reported.
“Each time we take them out, they come in again. Each time you take them out, they come in again,” Wike said, adding that returning them to their states of origin had also failed to provide a lasting solution.
He attributed part of the difficulty to Abuja’s geography, noting that the FCT shares borders with four states, making it harder to control the movement of people into the city.
2027: Wike waters down Atiku’s presidency
Previously, Legit.ng reported that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike declared that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s choice of running mate for the 2027 presidential election could prove fatal to his ambitions of returning to power.
Wike made the remarks during a media chat in Port Harcourt on Saturday, arguing that selecting a vice-presidential candidate purely for their political title, rather than their ability to deliver votes, was a strategic miscalculation. FCT Minister Nyesom Wike raises doubts about electoral strength.
Source: Legit.ng