Toba Owojaiye Reporting
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, has intervened in the crisis within the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and suspended activities of the warring factions. In a letter issued by the Minister’s Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, Emmanuel Igbinosun, and addressed to the National Chairman of the union in Abuja, the minister called for an amicable resolution of the conflict.
This decision comes after a meeting with the NURTW leadership. The letter, titled ‘Leadership Of The National Union Road Transport Workers (NURTW) And Industrial Coup D’état By The Former President Of The Union, Alh Najeem Usman Yasin And His Rampaging Illegal Militia-A Clarion Call For Intervention,’ emphasizes the need for resolution and highlights that both factions in the dispute have been informed.
The Minister invoked the powers conferred upon him by Section 5 of the Trade Dispute Act CAP T8 Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, to apprehend the dispute. As a result, he directed the suspension of all NURTW faction activities, including the election of new executives and day-to-day operations, pending a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Further instructions are expected by or before October 13, 2023.
This decision follows recent events where a faction led by Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede forcefully took over the National Secretariat of the union in Garki 2, displacing the incumbent President, Alhaji Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa. Baruwa and three other national officers of the union were detained in Abuja over the leadership crisis, with the FCT Commissioner of Police facilitating a meeting between the factions and former head of the defunct Lagos Park Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya, alias MC Oluomo.
The Minister’s intervention aims to bring about a peaceful resolution to the NURTW crisis and restore stability to the union.