The General Secretary of the Okada Riders Association of Ghana, Alhaji Majid Amadu, has expressed profound appreciation to President John Dramani Mahama for what he says are major improvements in the livelihoods of commercial motorbike riders across the country with the passage of the Okada Bill.

Speaking in an interview on the Ghana Yensom morning show on Accra 100.5 FM, hosted by Chief Jerry Forson, Alhaji Amadu thanked the President, the Minister for Transport, and Members of Parliament for responding to the long-standing concerns of Okada operators.

According to him, the Association has been seeking parliamentary action for years without success, and the recent developments represent a fulfilment of promises made to them.

In celebration of the milestone, he revealed that the Association plans to organise a major event for all Okada riders, inviting the media to officially extend their gratitude to the President.

However, Alhaji Amadu raised serious concerns about the growing involvement of foreign nationals in the Okada business. He claimed that 70% of Okada riders in Ghana are now foreigners, warning that the situation poses potential national security risks.

“If care is not taken, bad actors from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger—even extremist groups—could enter Ghana using motorcycles without being detected,” he cautioned.

He therefore appealed to the government to remove all foreign riders from the system, stressing that other countries do not permit foreigners to operate as commercial motorbike riders, and Ghana should adopt the same approach.

Alhaji Amadu added that the Association is prepared to pay taxes to support national development and urged the Transport Ministry to engage them in a meeting to identify and phase out foreign operators.

He disclosed that there are an estimated 24,000 Okada riders in Ghana and proposed that the government integrate members of the Association into the Police Service to help weed out miscreants.

He said many riders operate with unregistered or improperly marked motorcycles, making it difficult to trace criminals.

To address this, he proposed the introduction of customised number plates for all commercial motorbikes to ensure easy identification and enforcement.