How Lagos Agberos Make N123 billion Annually

Motor park louts and brigands — popularly referred to as "agberos" — in Nigeria's commercial hub, Lagos, rake in a sum of N123.078 billion annually from commercial drivers, motorcyclists, and tricyclists.

This is according to a recent research report by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) titled: ‘Transport Statistics and Annual Revenue Paid to Agebros In Lagos’. ICIR disclosed that the money is made from rates, fees, tolls and other forms of tax levied on transport collected basically around motor parks.

These "agberos" are official workers of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) who are usually seen in white and green uniforms but sometimes appear in mufti.

According to the data released by ICIR, there are 75,000 commercial buses (danfos) in Lagos as revealed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

Also, despite the recent prohibition of tricycles (Keke Marwa or NAPEP) by the Lagos State Government, the report showed that there are 50,000 of them operating in the metropolitan city.

ICIR discovered through interviews with motorcycle riders in Lagos that each Local Council Development Authority (LCDA) in Lagos has at least 1,000 motorcycles. Lagos State has 37 LCDAs, thus we can arrive at an estimate of 37,000 motorcycles operational in the state.

Estimated figures from the report also showed that each commercial vehicle driver pays at least N3,000 to ticket touts on a daily basis, leading to a staggering revenue of N82.1 billion from commercial danfo drivers in just a year. This means that these drivers pay an aggregate sum of N225 million each day, N6.75 billion each month, and N82.125 billion each year to agberos. This was confirmed by the interviews the ICIR conducted with 50 drivers from 37 LCDAs.

Also, there were varying levies for motorcyclists ranging from N400 to N800, and the average amount of money a motorcyclist pays agberos in a day was pegged at N600. These statistics put the estimated figures in naira at N8.1 billion paid annually.

In its interviews with motorcycle riders in Lagos, ICIR recorded that these levies are fully backed by the Motorcycle Operators’ Association of Lagos State (MOALS).

Consequently, motorcycle riders pay N22.2 million to agberos each day, N666 million each month, and N8.103 billion each year.

The report further showed that more than 60 tricycle drivers in 21 LCDAs in the commercial city told ICIR that they paid at least N1,800 to agberos each day.

This means that each day, agberos walk off with N90 million from transport taxes collected from tricycle drivers. Every month, their pay reaches N2.7 billion, rising further to N32.85 billion every year.

Each commercial vehicle driver pays at least N3,000 daily to ticketing touts, according to oral testimonies obtained by ICIR from more than 50 commercial bus drivers in 21 out of 37 local council development authorities (LCDAs) in Lagos.

In total, commercial buses, tricycles, and motorcycles pay N123.078 billion to agberos in Lagos each year.  This excludes taxis as there are no relevant data on this category.

However, while these two transport unions (NURTW and RTEAN) appear official, there is no formal document that specifies the revenue they generate is remitted into the coffers of the Lagos State Government.

Also, the report revealed that “although the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) says on its website that ‘road taxes’ are among the 25 taxes that are collected by the state government….the government agency provides no evidence on the website that road taxes are being collected by the state government.”

It was further revealed that although some of the revenue was remitted to the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and to the rival union RTEAN, the bulk of the money generated was most likely completing its journey in private pockets.

“The [motor park] chairman takes the huge chunk of the money, shares the rest to his subordinates and leaves little in an account operated by his union,” it stated.