Economy
NURTW: How Lagos ‘agberos’ generate N123bn annually — Report
The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Lagos Chapter, generates about N123.08 billion annually according to a statistical report by the International Centre for Investigative Report (ICIR).
Levies on passenger vehicles, motorcycles, and tricycles are collected by the NURTW personnel, popularly known as “agberos” in Lagos.
This personnel are well known for their unconventional means of ensuring motorists make payment such as removing their side mirror, wiper or sometimes destroying a part of any vehicle that tries to escape.
More than one of these agberos are stationed at strategic positions in the state especially where passengers are most likely to drop off.
Other sources of income not included in the report were money levied on hawkers, articulated vehicles, and persons who visited certain markets to buy goods.
The report recorded a total of 75,000 buses; 50,000 tricycles; and 37,000 motorcycles.
It showed that on a daily basis, N3,000, N600, and N1,800 were levied on buses, motorcycles, and tricycles respectively.
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These levies sum up to N82.1bn for buses; N8.1bn for motorcycles; and N32.9bn for tricycles yearly; making a total of N123.078bn yearly.
According to the report, the N123.078 billion generated by agberos each year amounts to 29.4 per cent of Lagos State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N418.99 billion in 2020.
The money was also hinted to be going into private pockets instead of the state’s coffer.
