YEARS after losing his seat in a stunning crisis, the former deposed Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW), Oyo State Council, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola popularly called Tokyo is making atypical surreptitious moves to regain power, Mega Icon Magazine exclusively gathered.
Our further checks revealed that the embattled ex-NURTW boss, Akinsola, who visited the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan on the eve of Sunday May 28th, 2017 to break fast, also desperately seeking for the governor’s assistance to reinstate him.
Tokyo, who claimed he had court judgement in his favour pleaded with the governor for several hours, which was turned down.
It would be recalled that the Oyo state government in 2011 inaugurated a five-man judicial commission of enquiry to investigate the protracted crisis in the state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers which claimed several lives, including Anwal Bala Shannon, a 500 level medical student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, at Iwo road area of Ibadan, the state capital.
The panel which had a retired high court judge, Justice Olagoke Ige, as the chairman, was told that the government resolved to investigate the NURTW crisis because it could no longer fold its hands while some people continued to portray the state as a state of touts and hooligans.
Also, the probe panel with eight weeks to conclude its assignment was given the mandate to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the violent clash, to identify those individuals and or groups that precipitated and or participated in the crisis either directly or indirectly, and recommend appropriate sanctions to be imposed on the identified culprits and to make appropriate recommendations on how to prevent recurrence among others.
However, the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi proscribed the then NURTW which was under the firm control of rivalry leaders – Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (Tokyo) and Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi (Auxiliary) respectively.
This development led to the emergence of Alhaji Taofeek Oyerinde (Fele), who is currently occupying the seat for a second term.
Mega Icon Magazine also gathered that the ex-NURTW captain, Alhaji Akinsola nominated the present occupant, Alhaji Oyerinde, one of his loyal aides, who has been able to control the affairs of the union without rancor.
