President of the Motor Riders Association, David Teye, has bemoaned the pains and hustle motor riders go through in the hands of the Ghana Police Service while going about their daily activities.

Narrating their ordeal to the media at a press conference held at Ashaiman on Wednesday, he stated that riders are mostly molested by the police because the security service perceives their work as illegal.

Due to this, he said the Association is calling on President Akufo-Addo to help brand the okada business and bring it to a reputable standard.

He stated that “We are being molested by the police because it has not been legalized, they molest us anyhow. When a policeman arrests you, he does anything he wants with you because if he feels the work you are doing is illegal and if you want to do something elsewhere, they’ll send you to court and that is why we want government to do it and do it properly so that they brand this work for us.”

“I think when the government shape this work for us, it will be a very huge work,” he added.

The Association is therefore calling for the legalisation and the regulation of the okada business in Ghana to create jobs as well as generate revenue for the country.

They also called on government to set up a safety and training school to train and license Okada riders just as it is for the DVLA.

Meanwhile, former president, John Dramani Mahama has promised to legalise the operation of the okada business in the country should he win the upcoming December polls.