Fresh crisis may soon erupt in Ogun as hundreds of members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN on Monday, September 23, 2019 protested their alleged illegal suspension from various garages and motor parks across Ijebuland.
The protesters who stormed the Police Area Command, Igbeba in Ijebu Ode local government with their vehicles also alleged the transport committee inaugurated by Gov Dapo Abiodun few months back as playing a yeo-man role to please members only loyal to the incumbent Governor at the expense of other genuine members of the union in the area.
Speaking through their spokesperson, Comrade Salisu Alao, the state organising Secretary who equally doubles as the Zonal Chairman, Ijebu zone 3 narrated that they have been actively involved in union activities and running their business within the dictate of the union’s constitution until the advent of Dapo Abiodun’s administration.
The union leader lamented that some of their members were thereafter side-lined from operating within the park, a situation which he said has thrown them into untold hardship.
In his own words, “For the past three months, we have been sent packing from our various parks because we are supporting Alhaji Ahmed Kuku. Those people have not been working for the past three months, and they have families. We are law abiding of Nigeria and we don’t want war or crisis, we don’t want to fight and take laws into our hands, and is why we are here on a peaceful protest.
We have not been working since the inauguration of the transport committee for the past three months.
We have consulted the Chairman of the transport committee for the past three month, but he never attended to the issue. We have also reported this issue to the Ijebu area commander, but he didn’t act on it at all”, he added.
Also speaking in a separate chat, Alhaji Isiaka Alowolodun described the situation of the aggrieved unionists as pathetic as they could no longer attend to their immediate needs due to their suspension from the park.
“More than 200 vehicles have been sent out of several parks within Ijebu. We don’t want to engage in reprisal attacks, that’s why we are here.
The government said they have appointed the transport committee to look into the transport matters within three months and unfortunately, the three months have expired”.
The aggrieved protesters have however appealed to the state governor to look into the activities of the Transport Committee in a bid to arrest the ugly situation in the union in the state.
