A political and advocacy group in the Peoples Democratic Party, the PDP Advocates for Peace and Justice, has criticised the directive mandating biometric registration and a unified ticketing system for commercial tricycles and minibuses across Akwa Ibom State, describing it as insensitive.
The directive, issued by the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Transport in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service, is set to commence on Monday, March 16, 2026.
It is aimed at strengthening revenue administration and improving documentation of commercial transport operators in the state.
However, the PDP group, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Tom FredFish, and Secretary, Mr Saviour Uko, and released in Uyo on Sunday, said the exercise amounts to a disguised tax burden on already struggling citizens.
The statement reads, “The PDP Advocates for Peace and Justice (PAPA-J) strongly condemns the recent directive issued by the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Transport in collaboration with AKIRS, mandating the immediate biometric registration and unified ticketing system for commercial tricycles and minibuses across the state.
“While the government may present this as an administrative or technological reform, it is painfully clear that it is another disguised tax burden on the already suffering citizens of Akwa Ibom State.
“At a time when workers and ordinary citizens are battling unprecedented economic hardship, it is deeply insensitive for the administration of Umo Eno to introduce policies that will ultimately increase transportation costs and worsen living conditions.”
The group further noted that civil servants are already spending a significant portion of their salaries on transportation due to the lack of a functional and affordable state transport system.
“Instead of addressing fundamental problems in the transport sector, the government has chosen the easier path of taxing operators and indirectly transferring the burden to the public,” the statement added.
PAPA-J emphasised that commercial tricycle operators, also known as keke riders, are among the most economically vulnerable citizens in the state. Subjecting them to additional bureaucratic and financial requirements through biometric registration and technology-driven ticketing effectively targets the poorest segment of society.
The statement continued, “Even more troubling is the failure of the administration to create enterprises capable of generating employment or stimulating economic productivity.
“With thousands of young people unemployed and struggling to survive, it is both morally and economically misguided to focus on squeezing more money from struggling transport operators instead of creating opportunities for decent livelihoods.”
The group also criticised the state government’s perceived alignment with the APC-led federal administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, arguing that instead of shielding citizens from economic shocks, the state government is compounding hardship through additional taxation while infrastructure deteriorates and billions are spent on political endorsement tours.
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