The President of the Okada Riders Association has opened up on how election promises from politicians lead them into their line of business.

According to Mohammed Tijani, politicians, in every election year, give them juicy promises to get them on their side for their campaigns but abandon them after victory.

Mr Tijani noted the Association initially had about 15,300 but now they have lost count of the number because it has increased greatly.

 “During elections, they (politicians) buy motorbikes for some of us. I am a beneficiary and I know a lot more, they will direct us to certain areas to go and campaign for them. They will give assurances of providing sustainable jobs for us but after their victory, that is the end.

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“They don’t take the motorbikes back after the campaign and because we have no source of livelihood, we use them for business, so that is how we started the okada business,” he said on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem Thursday.

Commenting on some challenges, Mr Tijani noted dress code of some riders is their main concern.

 He said most of their members are from isolated areas and really have no time to dress well but all they think about is to work.

Though he admitted the situation makes them least respected, he added that it’s their daily bread they are after and not the dressing.

“Nobody comes from the village well dressed and so they start these businesses in their villages and because they are so much in a hurry to feed their families, they concentrate on their jobs and not their dressing and it’s something we are trying to deal with,” he said.