Ondo raises N800m from motorcycle levies, lauds riders

The Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has said the state has improved in the area of internally generated revenue, particularly from commercial motorcyclists, also called ‘okada’.

Akeredolu disclosed that the state had realised over N800m from the sales of tickets to the okada riders across the 18 local government areas of the state from January 2022 till date.

The governor stated this on Wednesday in Akure, the state capital, at the 2022 motorcycle raffle draw for commercial motorcycle riders in the state. 

The event was organised by the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service.

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Represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the governor applauded the commercial motorcyclists in the state for their compliance with the directive of the government in buying their daily tickets and contributing their quota to the development of Ondo State with an improved collection rate.

He said, “Taking us back to memory lane, when we came on board, okada collection in the state was about N4.8m in a year. In 2018, we were able to generate N350m; in 2019, the state generated over N538m; in 2020 (with the COVID-19 pandemic), we were able to get over N660m; and in 2021, we made over N750m.

 “This led to the invitation of commercial motorcycle riders to this hall last year, where they were gifted various items ranging from gas cylinders to different sizes of generating sets to appreciate their commitment.

“Here comes 2022 again; the collection from January to date is over N800 million on their account. This is indeed a noticeable and remarkable feat. In light of the foregoing, we decided to give back to our riders in seven local government areas for a job well done within the course of the year. We believe this is indeed an encouraging development and a positive reinforcement for the outstanding local governments in Ondo State.”

In his remarks earlier, the Chairman of the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service, Mr Tolu Adegbie, said the state tended to build on what it started last year by organising the second edition of the commercial motorcycle riders raffle draw to reward performance across seven local government areas that had generated high revenue this year.

“This is with special recognition to Akure South, Akure North, Akoko South West, Idanre Okitipupa, Ondo West, and Owo, riders that have undeniably contributed over N800 million to the revenue growth in 2022,” he said.