The Nineteen Seventeen Northern Consensus Movement (NSNCM) has called on the Federal Government to urgently fulfil the promise of providing two million electric tricycles to its members under the Community Transport Initiative of the Presidential Campaign Council. The group expressed frustration over the prolonged delay, despite the recent launch of electric tricycles in Abuja.
Speaking at a news briefing on Sunday in Kaduna, the National President of the NSNCM, Dr. Auwal Abdullahi, said the commitment was originally made through the National Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association (NATOMORAS)—an affiliate of the NSNCM—during the 2023 election campaigns.
According to Abdullahi, the tricycles were expected to be distributed through the Community Transport Directorate, headed by NATOMORAS National President Mr. Usman Gwoza, who also served as the Director of Contact and Mobilisation for the NSNCM during the campaign period.
He explained that members were instructed to pay registration fees after being assured that the Federal Government would cover 50% of the cost, while beneficiaries were to pay the remaining balance. The funds, he said, were paid through NATOMORAS to the Non-Governmental Association of Nigeria (NOGAS), a body involved in poverty alleviation, skills acquisition and educational support programmes.
However, Abdullahi noted with concern that none of the two million electric tricycles promised had been delivered to the registered beneficiaries, despite the government recently unveiling the first batch in Abuja. The delay, he revealed, had generated tension among members, leading to protests, arrests and alleged harassment of some association leaders.
The NSNCM President emphasised that the movement, which comprises 598 registered associations across the 19 Northern states, played a major role in mobilising support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the 2023 elections.
“We are supporters of President Tinubu. We campaigned and voted massively through the Community Transport Department of the Presidential Campaign Council. We are only asking that the promise made to our members be honoured,” he said.
Abdullahi appealed to the President to intervene by directing the immediate release of the tricycles to NATOMORAS for onward distribution to all verified beneficiaries.
He warned that if the Federal Government fails to take action before December 15, the movement would mobilise its over two million registered members for a peaceful nationwide protest to demand the fulfilment of the campaign pledge.
“No politician will want to joke with two million votes in 2027,” he added.