Thousands of tricycle riders in Enugu State gathered in a massive show of support for Governor Peter Mbah on Monday, endorsing his reelection bid in a display of growing grassroots momentum.
Operators, popularly known as Keke riders, rode their tricycles decorated with stickers and images of Governor Mbah from Abakpa to Okpara Square, Emene to Okpara Square, Agbani Road to Okpara Square, Ogui Road to Okpara Square, New Haven, and through Nkpokiti, Ebeano Tunnel, Holy Ghost, Ziks Avenue, Timber Shade, UNEC Gate, IMT Gate and others.
The Chairman of the association, Comrade Kingsley Edeh, told newsmen that the Mbah administration had provided an enabling environment, such as security and good roads, which had greatly impacted on their spending on the maintenance of their tricycles.
“The governor is a goodhearted man. He embraced everybody and gave everybody an enabling environment for our people to do business in the state.
We have seen that our revenue, the one that we pay, is going somewhere. We looked at the developmental strides of the governor and said we want to organise a big solidarity and endorsement rally for Governor Mbah as the man we want in 2027, he said.
“We are endorsing him for 2027 so he will keep doing a good job as governor. We are not interested in anyone else.
“A lot of politicians lie about what they didn’t do. But his own is ‘e dey play, e dey show’
“Look at the roads he is building everywhere. We used to visit the mechanics on weekly basis and waste our earnings on bad roads before now. But today, we are witnessing the benefits of democracy. At least, no one can deny the fact that no other governor comes close to what our governor has done in less than three years.
“Again, with the 260 Smart Schools and 260 Type 2 Health Centres in all the wards, we will have more disposable income because the Smart Schools are free of charge. They even give you free food and uniforms. Soon our children will be as learned as the children of America and Europe.
See also International Conference Center. “We get people coming from Abuja, Lagos, Kano, from all over Nigeria and even from outside Nigeria once in a while for big conferences and we make a lot of money,” he said.
The group also condemned the claims of over-taxation in Enugu, while commending Mbah for phasing out cash payments in revenue collection, which they said created corruption, confusion and union crises in the past.
Revenue collection is no longer chaotic. We pay via the Internet. No more of that thug stuff. If you come with paper to collect any kind of revenue, we resist it because we know it is no longer business as usual. So we now have peace, accountability, no more factions and fightings in the system because of revenue.
“Also it is a lie that the governor is over-taxing the Keke riders. It is complete lies. “We are paying the minimum money required from us, and we are happy with the way the governor is utilizing it to do our roads and other projects.
“Actually, the people that were collecting cash before Mbah came and doing all manner of sharp practices are the ones spinning the falsehood because they are not happy,” Edeh added.
They insisted that the governor should do his second tenure, “like it or not.”
We shall vote en masse for him. You can see that we are determined. We’ll put the governor there, any road. We will push him back into that seat to finish his term, even if he wants to run back to his business in Lagos,” he vowed.
