Abia State Government has restricted the operational time of motorcycles and tricycles in the state from 7:00pm to 6:00am.

This, according to the government is part of the necessary measures to tackle the rising menace of street robbery in parts of the state.

The restriction will take effect from July 1st in all major Council areas of Umuahia and Aba metropolis.

Addressing a press conference in Umuahia on Tuesday, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, said the measure was a painful but necessary decision to curb pockets of robbery and criminal activities in parts of the state.

The commissioner who was flanked by his Information counterpart, Prince Okey Kanu, among other top government officials, and leadership of tricycle and motorcycle unions in the state, appealed to members of the public to adjust and comply with the directive.

According to him, most of the robbery incidents take place at late evening and early morning hours.

He also said that all commercial vehicles in the state including tricycles, minibuses and buses must be documented and marked for easy identification.

He, however, said that the registration would be free of charge.

The commissioner said a committee headed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Navy Commander Macdonald Ubah, with some other top government officials and relevant stakeholders as members, had been set up to handle the documentation.

He, however, said that government would still hold meetings with security agencies to ensure that law abiding citizens are not victimized during enforcement of the restrictions.

In their respective contributions, Chairman, Aba Motorcycle Operators Union, Azubuike Chigozie; his Umuahia counterpart, Chiemela Ugbaja; Godson Apollos, all adopted the decision and commended Government for the measure which, they said was in public interest.

They urged their members to comply with the new directive. (Vanguard)