Acting Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Abraham Amaliba, has welcomed Parliament’s approval of the Road Traffic Amendment Bill, 2025, which officially legalises the commercial use of motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles.
According to him, the new law will finally allow regulators to properly engage riders, enforce safety standards and correct unsafe behaviours.
Speaking on TV3 on December 12 which was monitored by NewsDeskGH, Mr. Amaliba explained that the many okada riders behaved in certain ways out of fear of arrest.
“People don’t know that the reason why the Okada riders drive in such a way as to avoid being arrested,” he said.
“Now that they’re legal, they will now be regulated. Before now, the national road safety authority has no right to meet okada riders to give the road safety education because they were an illegal group,”
He noted that the new law gives the NRSA room to fully implement safety programmes for riders.
“Now it frees our hands to ensure that we provide them with road safety education, road safety sensitization. And under the law they’re to operate under groups now as individuals again so in the groups, there’ll have road safety officers attached,”
He added that the legislation will be backed by detailed regulations to streamline operations and enhance public safety.
“This is a great opportunity for us to bring sanity into the okada business,” he noted.
“Apart from providing jobs, it empowers regulators like us to then go in there and do the needful by ensuring that these riders over traffic regulations,”
Mr. Amaliba further explained that riders will be provided with safety reflectors and will be required to wear protective helmets certified by the Standards Authority, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the NRSA.
Parliament on Thursday, December 11, passed the Road Traffic Amendments Bill, popularly known as the Okada Bill.
Key Aspects of the Bill
-The bill amends the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683), which previously prohibited using motorcycles and tricycles to carry fare-paying passengers.
-The new law introduces a structured regulatory and licensing framework, including:
Mandatory training and proficiency tests for commercial riders,
A specialised commercial rider’s licence issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA),
Certified protective helmets for both riders and passengers,
Stricter penalties for riders and operators who breach the regulations.
-The proposed age requirement for commercial riders is a minimum of 21 years old, a reduction from an earlier proposed 25 years.
