Furore over Niger’s gaseous emission control permit for tricycles
• Keke riders allege extortion; say we are only paying to avoid trouble In Niger State, a yearly gaseous emission permit for tricycle operators has become the subject of growing
• Keke riders allege extortion; say we are only paying to avoid trouble
In Niger State, a yearly gaseous emission permit for tricycle operators has become the subject of growing controversy. JUSTINA ASISHANA reports that while the government says the scheme is meant to track pollution and support environmental planning, riders and critics argue that it has been poorly explained, unevenly enforced, and used more as a revenue levy than a genuine climate measure.
In Niger State, thousands of yellow tricycles popularly called Keke NAPEP operators navigate traffic, potholes and the relentless daily hustle, ferrying passengers and eking out a living amid rising fuel costs and economic hardship. For years, these tricycles have been the undisputed backbone of local transit in Niger State.
Recently, however, they have been thrust into the centre of a heated debate involving environmental sustainability, multiple taxation and a glaring lack of government transparency.
For several years, many have been required to obtain a gaseous emission control permit from the Niger State Environmental Protection Agency (NISEPA), often costing up to N3,000 annually, with figures cited between N500 and N3,000 depending on the vehicle category. The policy is designed to document and eventually curb the state's carbon footprint.
Officially, this permit supports air quality monitoring and environmental protection under the agency’s 2011 enabling law (as amended), which grants NISEPA powers to control emissions from mobile and stationary sources. Yet interviews with stakeholders, coupled with on-ground realities and broader environmental data reveals a stark disconnect between high-minded climate goals in government offices and the street-level reality of revenue collection and raise pointed questions: Is this a genuine climate mitigation effort, or primarily a revenue-generation mechanism with limited transparency and questionable environmental impact?
Keke riders in the dark, say ‘we just pay to avoid wahala’
For a policy rooted in environmental protection, the primary stakeholders, the tricycle riders themselves are overwhelmingly in the dark. Interviews with operators across Minna, the state capital, revealed total absence of sensitization or public enlightenment regarding the purpose of the Gaseous Emission Control Permit.
Malam Ibrahim, a rider who has rode the busy Bosso-Mobil Roundabout route for six years, leaned against his keke, pointing at the sticker pasted in front of it, "Nobody came to tell us anything about smoke or climate change. Maybe they told our leaders. But nobody explained what it is or will be used for," he said, visibly frustrated.
"We just woke up and saw a taskforce blocking the road. They said if we don't pay for 'emission,' they would impound our keke. I don't even know what emission means. I just pay my ₦3,000 to avoid wahala (trouble) so I can feed my family."
His sentiment was echoed by Chinedu, an operator stationed near the Kure Ultra-Modern Market. "They just want to make money from us," he said.
"If my Keke is smoking too much, shouldn't they tell me to go to a mechanic? Instead, they just collect the money and give you a sticker.
“Whether your engine is clean or bad, as long as you pay, you can carry passengers. How is that one protecting the environment?"
Many keke riders echo the lack of sensitization. Several other operators interviewed also admitted they do not fully understand the permit’s purpose beyond it being a mandatory annual payment enforced by task forces.
The lack of communication has bred deep suspicion. Riders view the permit not as a collective effort to clean Minna’s air, but as just another layer in a suffocating web of daily union dues, local government levies, and state taxes.
“No one explained what it is for or how the money is used,” another rider, Hamza, whose route is mostly Tunga to Chanchaga, said.
“They just stop you, demand the card or receipt, and if you don’t have it, they threaten to impound the machine.”
Others complained of multiple levies compounding daily hardships, which include fuel, repairs, union tickets, and now this.
The official position: Administrative tool for data and planning
Dr. Abubakar Mohammad, General Manager and CEO of the Niger State Environmental Protection Agency (NISEPA), described the permit not as a licence to pollute but an administrative registration system, adding that It helps the agency map point and non-point sources of gaseous emissions and stationary ones like industrial generators or chimneys, and mobile ones like vehicles.
"It is just a way of registering, knowing there is pollution, gaseous emission, either stationary or non-stationary in this particular place. And if it is non-stationary, we also want to know where the movement is.
“Now, when you have all this data, you'll be able to make a long-term planning, know where the state will need to put its resources in, because the state is really doing a lot in terms of controlling gaseous emission.
“The permit is not because we are trying to give you a licence to pollute the environment, but an administrative way for us to be able to identify our points and non-points of pollution," Mohammad explained.
“Establishing this baseline data”, he argued, “helps the government pinpoint pollution hotspots, and this has helped us in identifying the Lambata to Madala corridor as the highest concentration zone and is helping us to plan interventions accordingly.”
Mohammad claimed that NISEPA conducts emission tests to determine particulate matter levels, following national air quality standards.
However, the union representing the riders contradicts this. Comrade Musa Isiaku, the National Vice President of ACOMORAN (Amalgamated Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners, Repairers and Riders Association of Nigeria) and Coordinator of the Revenue Coalition, bluntly dismissed the idea of scientific testing.
"There is nothing like testing the tricycles," Isiaku stated. "Even initially, there was nothing like that."
The General Manager further disclosed that the agency partners with bodies like the Vehicle Inspection Officers for enforcement adding that funds collected on behalf of the Niger State Internal Revenue Service (NGSIRS) are described as modest and these proceeds primarily aid registration and data collection rather than direct project funding.
Mohammad emphasised that data informs state planning, such as prioritising electric tricycles in high-traffic areas like Lambata to Madala, identified as a hotspot for gaseous emissions, noting that the state promotes a green transition through the Niger State Green Initiative Agency, including electric tricycles, improved cook stoves and afforestation, often supported by larger budgets and external partners.
He stressed synergy with broader initiatives, noting that commercial vehicles like keke receive focus because of their intensive daily use (10–12 hours) compared to private cars.
Comrade Musa Isiaku, National Vice President of ACCOMORAN (and Coordinator for Revenue Coalition), echoes that the emission permit is “not a new thing”, saying it has existed for 15-20 years.
Curiously, Isiaku's defense of the levy has nothing to do with carbon footprints or gaseous emissions. Rather, he framed it as a fee for municipal upkeep.
He said: "When you look at today, keke people occupy everywhere. In their parking garages, they buy pure (sachet) water, throw away waste everywhere. That is purposely why the issue of NISEPA environmental fee came up. Government must collect revenue to settle those engaged in cleaning the parks."
The glaring contradiction is that while NISEPA is claiming the permit is for carbon data mapping, the union enforces it as a street-sweeping levy. This highlights the profound systemic confusion surrounding the tax.
Isiaku frames compliance as a civic duty contributing to environmental cleanliness, especially in tricycle parks where waste (pure water sachets and dirts) accumulates, acknowledging past issues like fraudulent stickers or delayed card issuance but says unions and agencies are resolving them through task forces and synergy.
Isiaku said the cost of the permit is not more than ₦3,000 yearly, saying it favorably compares to charges in other cities. He argued that operators earn enough from fares as they now charge N200 and more per drop per passenger and can easily cover the fee.
He said that enforcement is on ground linking non-compliance to broader law-breaking and urging members to complain formally rather than evade.
A misdirected climate policy?
The scientific consensus on tricycle pollution is clear: because tricycles lack doors and windows, passengers and riders are heavily exposed to localised airborne pollutants like Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter resulting from incomplete combustion.
However, when viewed through the macro-lens of state-wide climate change mitigation, targeting tricycles while not fully enforcing it on other heavier polluters appears highly disproportionate.
Mathew Oladele, an Environmental and Climate Change Advocate in Niger State, said there is little or no public information about the policy and “zero” measurable improvement in Minna’s air quality or environmental management since its enforcement.
"The government just misdirected the implementation of the policy," Oladele argued.
"Niger State has more federal road networks than some three states put together. The state should have used this opportunity to levy heavy truck traffic, which is the most significant contributor to gaseous emission and pollution."
Oladele pointed out the hypocrisy in heavily taxing the lowest-income transport workers while heavy-duty construction equipment, inter-state haulage trucks, and industrial factories operate with relative impunity.
"You can see the construction companies with their trucks and heavy-duty equipment roaming freely on our roads, doing normal business. The government didn't target them but the little keke NAPEP riders. They are the least on the list."
A climate change and community engagement expert, Umar Abubakar Richard, said he had not heard about the permit in the state, adding that there should be a device that can check the level of gaseous emission from the tricycles before taxing them, pointing out that information about the permit is not well known.
He called on NISEPA to make information available for the populace and be accountable and open about what the tax is being used for so that the people in the state can know about it.
Following the money
If the environmental impact of the tricycle emission tax is debatable, the financial transparency of the scheme is practically invisible.
Asked if any tangible eco-projects or climate adaptations in Niger State are funded directly by the proceeds of this permit, NISEPA's General Manager conceded that the specific revenue from tricycles is negligible.
"Last year alone, we didn't collect up to N15 million from all these keke," he stated, contrasting this with the state government's broader Green Initiative Agency, which commands a budget of nearly N10 billion for projects like providing clean cooking stoves and promoting electric tricycles.
“The provision of cooking stoves, the provision of what you call them, tricycles, electric tricycles, these are all done by relying on the data that we produce.
“So if, for example, you are registering and you have 1,000 keke in Suleja and you have 300 keke in Minna, definitely you know that when you are distributing electric keke on government assistance, you take more electric keke to Suleja than you put in Minna.”
For Oladele, this explanation falls entirely short. He described the levy as exploitative; a characterization the agency disputes.
"As far as I am concerned, the level of accountability is zero," Oladele asserted. He noted that the only visible, large-scale climate mitigation effort in the state is the World Bank-funded Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project which is a $20 million loan initiative expected to plant 15 million trees.
According to Oladele, internally generated green taxes have not materialised into public health or environmental projects that the public can verify. He calls for a transparent framework which includes the publication of collections and expenditures in disaggregated reports, engaging stakeholders, and conducting public enlightenment. Without this, he said, the permit risks eroding trust and compliance.
Environmental context: Are keke a significant source of gaseous emissions?
Nigeria’s transport sector contributes substantially to emissions, alongside gas flaring, power generation (especially diesel generators), and industry. In urban centres like Minna, studies show traffic volume correlates with elevated levels of CO, NO₂, and SO₂, often exceeding federal thresholds at busy intersections.
Tricycles, frequently powered by two-stroke or older engines, emit carbon monoxide, particulate matter and other pollutants; their high numbers and stop-start operation in congested areas amplify local air quality impacts.
However, broader analyses rank heavy-duty vehicles, industrial sources, and widespread generator use (tens of millions nationwide due to unreliable grid power) as major drivers.
A study in Uyo, for instance, linked tricycle emissions to local pollution, but national patterns highlight transport’s overall share while noting commercial fleets’ intensive use.
In Niger, focusing registration on commercial tricycles makes administrative sense for data collection, yet critics argue it misses higher-impact stationary and heavy mobile sources.
However, NISEPA's General Manager noted that all vehicles are a source of gaseous emission except the electric vehicles, pointing out that the permit is not a tax but for registering keke.
“It is not a tax. The kekes are being registered, vehicles are also being registered, generators are being registered, industries are also being registered.
“Anywhere that there is a point of emission, they will be registered.
“The only people who are not registering now, and it is because it is completely inconsequential, are those using personal generators and personal vehicles.
“The amount of gaseous emission emitted from your generator at home cannot be compared to the amount of gaseous emission emitted by a generator in a factory or from the chimney of a factory.
“And the amount of usage of your vehicle, a personal vehicle, on most occasions cannot be compared to the amount of usage of your commercial vehicle.
“So if you need to register a carbon footprint, it is easier for you to register a commercial vehicle than to register a private vehicle. And that is why you see our attention more on commercial vehicles now than on private vehicles. That is why you see this difference.
“And this marking that we are doing is all administrative marking; just to know where the points are and how they move from one point to another.
“It is very, very important, as an environmental protection agency, for us to know our points of pollution and how we can actually control them or how we can manage them,” he explained.
NISEPA’s push for electric tricycles and free registration for zero-emission vehicles aligns with national and global shifts toward cleaner mobility.
“Yet adoption remains limited, hampered by charging infrastructure and power supply challenges, though solar is sometimes cited as a mitigator.
Revenue vs. mitigation: the transparency gap
NISEPA insists it does not directly collect funds, NGSIRS does, and portrays proceeds as minor administrative revenue compared to state green spending. The Green Initiative Agency and ACReSAL represent larger climate efforts, with the latter focusing on land restoration, tree planting (targets in the millions for Niger), and resilience in semi-arid areas.
Yet the permit’s environmental justification weakens without clear ring-fencing or public accounting of its specific proceeds to mitigation projects. Oladele notes that significant improvements often trace to external donors rather than this levy.
Isiaku links payments to general cleanliness and waste management in parks but defers detailed project oversight to the agency.
This opacity fuels perceptions of a “revenue drive disguised as eco-policy.”
Multiple levies, enforcement zeal, and limited sensitization exacerbate burdens on low-income operators already squeezed by fuel prices and economic conditions.
Unions monitor excesses through task forces, but ground-level complaints persist about harassment and unclear benefits.
Transition to electric: A glimmer of hope?
There is a silver lining in the government's approach in its acquisition of electric tricycles. In an effort to push for cleaner energy, NISEPA has completely waived the registration and permit fees for electric tricycles.
The General Manager views this as a vital first step, noting that the high cost of petrol is already naturally driving operators toward electric alternatives.
"If you have an electric vehicle, you will not even be charged for registration. The registration will be done for you free by the government," he confirmed.
Yet, as long as the state relies heavily on carbon-based tricycles for daily transit, a sustainable and fair environmental policy must bridge the deep trust deficit between the government and the governed.
Advocates like Oladele are calling for a complete overhaul of the system, starting with basic communication. "Establish an accountable system and structure with an inclusive and transparent framework," he advised.
"When you collect a tax, you need to tell us how much you collected, how you intend to spend it. Normalise public enlightenment and engagement with the primary contributors."
Way forward: Toward genuine accountability and impact
For the policy to deliver on climate mitigation and air quality, several steps appear essential, and they include the NGSIRS and NISEPA publishing annual disaggregated reports on collections from the emission permit, allocations, and verifiable impacts, and show the number of tests conducted, vehicles retrofitted, and data-driven interventions.
Also, there is the need for comprehensive public campaigns and sensitization explaining the permit’s purpose, emission standards, and how funds support cleaner air, targeting keke operators directly while there is need to show that the government is prioritising high-emission sources like heavy trucks, industries, large generators alongside tricycles, with random testing scaled up and support for maintenance or transition to cleaner engines/CNG/electric.
“Niger State’s efforts to map emissions and promote green mobility are steps in the right direction amid Nigeria’s climate vulnerabilities, which include desertification, flooding risks, and urban air pollution. However, without robust transparency, targeted enforcement, and visible links between revenue and results, many interviewed operators said they view the permit primarily as another levy rather than an environmental measure.
True environmental progress requires data-driven action, not just registration; accountability, not opacity; and equitable burden-sharing that tackles major polluters while supporting vulnerable operators’ transition to cleaner alternatives.
Riders, advocates, and officials alike deserve clarity on whether this permit truly clears the air or merely functions primarily as a revenue measure, according to critics.
Until Niger State can send officials to the keke parks and unions to explain the science of climate change, and until it can produce disaggregated public reports detailing exactly how the rider's N3,000 contributes to a cleaner environment, the Gaseous Emission Control Permit will remain viewed as exactly what the riders believe it to be: not a shield against climate change, but just another ticket punched on the dusty roads of Minna.
As one Keke operator put it, “If it is for the environment, show us what they are doing with the money. Otherwise, it is just another tax without anything to show for it.” The state has the opportunity and responsibility to prove the former.
