NURTW crisis: Caution Baruwa, ex-union leaders tell NLC

Some former leaders of the National Union of Road Transport Workers Union in the South-West zone have asked the Nigeria Labour Congress to call the National President of the union, Tajudeen Baruwa, to order.

The ex-union leaders, in a letter dated April 23, 2022, accused Baruwa of attempting to cause a breach of peace in Lagos State with his constitution of a nine-man caretaker committee to coordinate its operations in Lagos State.

The NURTW elders said the action of Baruwa was “an invitation to crisis and pandemonium” because the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu government had suspended NURTW operations in the state, and constituted a parks committee headed by the union’s ex-chairman in Lagos, Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo.

The ex-union leaders led by Lagos State NURTW Pioneer Chairman, Samuel Jonah, also accused Baruwa of “sundry violations”.

The statement was signed by Jonah as well as Alao Adewuyi, Alamu Otegbeye, Bola Lemboye and Stephen Falusi.

The statement was titled, ‘Report of the plan of the President of NURTW Chief Tajudeen Baruwa to cause a breach of peace in Lagos State motor parks’.

It read, “On numerous occasions, we have warned the President of our Union to desist from running the Union as his personal property without recourse to the approval Constitution of the Union but all our efforts fell on his deaf ears.

“Recently your Excellency this same man has gone to appoint another Caretaker Committee to come and run the affairs of the Union, where the government have already appointed Park Management Committee for peace to reign in the state. Is that not an invitation to crisis and pandemonium?

“We are aware that all motor parks in the state belong to the Government and that NURTW did not have any private Motor Park of its own. Where will his own committee work without clashing with the Government appointed Park Monitoring Committee?”

“It is sad to note that the President inherited six (6) functioning state councils of the Union in the South-West popularly called Zone 2 his home base but because of his selfish interest four out of these six states are already taken by their State Government including Lagos State now.

“Their evil plan should not be allowed to materialize here in Lagos-State,” it added.

PUNCH Metro had earlier reported that following the crisis rocking the union, Akinsanya pulled out in March after his suspension by the national leadership of the NURTW.

He also asked the governor to take over the running of all parks and garages in the state till peace returned to the union.

Sanwo-Olu later suspended the activities of NURTW from all parks and garages with immediate effect and set up a committee headed by Akinsany to take control of the parks and garages.

The NURTW had also been suspended in Ondo, Oyo and some other South-West states due to intractable leadership crises.

According to a 2021 report by the International Centre for Investigative Report, the Lagos chapter of NURTW generates about N123.08bn annually, which could service the annual budget of Nasarawa, Niger, and Yobe states put together.