By Ushang Ewa
Information reaching CrossRiverWatch suggests that the management of the state owned Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) has placed a ban on Tricycle operators within the varsity’s premises.
The ban according to sources will begin Wednesday, June 29, 2016 with sources citing security reasons as the cause for the ban which one described as “unnecessary”.
However, no official statement from the management is yet to be issued on the ban, causing a split in opinion on the veracity of the information which as at the time of going to press, CrossRiverWatch could not get official comments from the institution’s public relations unit.
But, a senior lecturer told CrossRiverWatch that the information could be true as the management also seeks to bar commercial taxis and tricycle operators popularly known as ‘Keke’ from approaching the school’s gate as “the management seeks relevant authorities to make them stop at the Ekpo Abasi junction” the lecturer said.
“If the story on the ban is true, then there is need to look for alternative source, maybe they should purchase buses as it is been done in the University of Calabar” the lecturer added.
The tricycle operators kept mum over the issue when approached by CrossRiverWatch as they remain the only mode of transport within the varsity community and to the neighbouring Iyonde village.
Numbering about 15, the tricycle operators in the current arrangement, pay a stipulated fee annually to the varsity’s “consult” unit before they are allowed to operate and charge between 30 and 50 Naira fee for commuting within the campus and the other parts of the university premises and slightly beyond.