The Oyo State Government has given a 14-day ultimatum to operators of commercial motorcycles, tricycles and taxi cabs in the state to paint their vehicles in commercial colours or risk arrest.

The Chairman, Oyo State Transport and Road Management Authority, Mogaji Akin Fagbemi, gave the ultimatum while meeting some strategic stakeholders in the transport sector in the state in his office on Monday.

He said the law had been operational for long but lamented that many of the commercial drivers had been defaulting.

He said, “I want to bring to our notice that there is a law in the state which we have not been following. It is important to enforce it considering the security situation and outcries of our people.

“We have observed that there are lots of taxi cabs that are not painted in commercial colours of the state. We have seen some tricycles that are not painted in commercial colours of the state.

“We cannot differentiate between okada that is being used for commercial and the one that is being used for private. We cannot even differentiate the ones being used for robbery and kidnapping.

“The law stipulates that all okada must be painted in commercial colours of Oyo State. If okada and tricycles are commercial, they must be painted in the commercial colours of the state. It will go a long way in the area of identification. It will also help to control the influx of those who are not part of us. We can easily identify them.

“The problem is the enforcement of the law, which we want to start now. We are going to give them grace of 14 days. This will help us to know those tricycles, motorcycles and the Micra that are in the state. We will be able to identify them and we know how to sort them out.”