The Ondo State Government has announced that it has generated N900 million from ticket sales to commercial motorcyclists and tricyclists across the state. 

The Chairman of the state Internal Revenue Service, Mr Tolu Adegbie, revealed this information during the 2023 raffle draw ceremony for commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators held in Akure on Monday.

Adegbie acknowledged a revenue shortfall compared to the previous year, attributing it to factors such as naira scarcity in the early part of the year and the removal of fuel subsidy. 

He stated that the generated revenue, primarily from motorcycles, amounted to N900 million between January and November.  “A sum of N900 million has been generated compared to last year. I mean from January to November, we’ve generated about N900 million. Meanwhile, this time last year, January to November, we had done N1 billion. This is for motorcycles and tricycles, but the bulk is from motorcycles

“For the tricycle, they are doing roughly about  N250 – N350 million which is not much. That is why we are giving out more gifts to the motorcyclists. We’ve charged the tricycle owners, even fewer in number,  to increase their performance,” he aid

Earlier, Doyin Odebowale, the Special Adviser to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on Special Duty and Strategy, provided context, noting that when the current administration assumed office, revenue from commercial motorcyclists was only about N400,000 monthly and N4.8 million annually. By 2018, the Akeredolu administration successfully increased revenue to N350 million.

As a gesture of appreciation, the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service presented various items, including motorcycles and bags of rice, to operators during the program.