NATOMORAS protest over FG’s failed CNG tricycle pledge

The National Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association (NATOMORAS) has put the Federal Government on notice, threatening a nationwide peaceful protest over the non-fulfillment of a key campaign promise: the provision of 2,000 CNG-powered tricycles.

During a press conference in Abuja, Usman Gwoza, National President of NATOMORAS, expressed profound disappointment in President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

He accused the administration of abandoning a crucial support base that actively campaigned for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections.

“Our members are angry, but we are peaceful people,” Gwoza stated.

“We love this government. But if this silence continues, we will have no choice but to mobilize our members to peacefully protest nationwide. Not in violence, but in pain.”

Gwoza recounted NATOMORAS’s significant grassroots mobilization efforts for the APC presidential campaign, which included deploying polling agents, organizing rallies, and providing support at various levels.

He noted that NATOMORAS, with over 18 million registered members, publicly endorsed the Tinubu/Shettima ticket without demanding financial compensation.

Despite these efforts, Gwoza lamented that promises—including federal appointments, tricycle empowerment, and support for the directorate of community transport—have not been fulfilled.

He specifically highlighted the unfulfilled delivery of 2,000 CNG tricycles, a promise publicly announced by a federal minister on October 1, 2024.

“We’ve not seen even a tyre, let alone a tricycle,” Gwoza declared. “We feel used. We feel dumped. We feel betrayed.”

Gwoza also accused government officials of ignoring repeated attempts to engage. He claimed to have written more than 10 times to both the President and Vice President without receiving any response.

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Furthermore, he referenced multiple stakeholder meetings organized by the Presidential Initiative on CNG (PiCNG) across various states in May 2024, which the association attended at its own expense, yet received no tangible support.

“This organization controls over 18 million registered members — how can the president of the country deny us?” he asked, emphasizing the sheer size and influence of the association.

Gwoza concluded with a direct appeal to President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima to honor their promises.

“We are not troublemakers. We are fathers, mothers, breadwinners, hustlers. We have waited long enough. Now is the time for action.”