Keke riders in Umuahia, Abia State capital on Monday stormed the Government House, Umuahia to protest a new Abia State Government levy which makes it compulsory for them to buy tickets weekly at N2,000.


The Keke riders who spoke to news men are also angry that the tax regime came with an increase from N250/daily to N400/daily. The describe the increment and compulsory weekly levy as inhuman and wicked and have vowed to protest against it until it is reversed.



Dailyledger.com.ng reports that the Governor Alex Otti-led administration on coming to office dismantled the ticketing system put in place by his predecessor and installed a new one which has not been able to perform according to projections.


The levy  regime of the last   administration based on 'pay-small-small' was a daily collection system, it's efficiency was such that it exceeded revenue collection projections and became a huge source of Internally Generated Revenue,  IGR for the administration. However under the Otti administration, revenue collection from Keke riders fell by 50% under the newly installed system. The present hike from N250/daily to N400/daily and the compulsory weekly collection are desperate measures to shore up revenue from Keke riders.



But the Keke riders said the compulsory weekly collection will not work as they are not always on the road for five days at a stretch.


Some who spoke to dailyledger.com.ng argued that while they could be forced to pay N400/daily, nothing will force them to pay on weekly basis