Leaders of the proscribed Oyo State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Thursday during an emergency meeting in Ibadan protested alleged plan by Governor Seyi Makinde to appoint Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi (A.k.a Auxiliary) as the state motor parks manager.
They also appealed to security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders and leaders of thoughts to prevail on the governor.
Contained in a statement jointly signed by Alhaji Abideen Olajide (a.k.a. Ejiogbe); Otunba Lekan Aleshinloye; Alhaji Lateef Opeyemi; Alhaji Kasali Lawal; Alhaji Isiaq Ajetunmobi; Comrade Taiwo Adesanya; among others, informed that the members had been mobilised to resist ‘a new twist in illegality’ in Oyo State.
The NURTW leaders further alleged that an aide of the Governor, on Thursday morning invited some of them to the State Secretariat and sought their ‘buy-in’ to cooperate with impending inauguration of Auxiliary as the State Motor Parks Manager.
According to the leaders, they were bewildered that Governor Makinde who swore to uphold the constitution could prod up an illegal committee under the guise of ‘Park Managers’ to run the administration of vehicles in the motor parks and same to be headed by a convicted and rejected Mukaila Lamidi (a.k.a. Auxiliary).
They added that Auxiliary had long been expelled from the Union and had since ceased to be a member of the NURTW as far back as October, 2011.
The statement reads “Constitutionally, the responsibility of the administration of our vehicles is saddled with the union, NURTW which Governor Seyi Makinde had illegally proscribed and which is outrightly above his constitutional powers, as a labour union operates under the Labour Act.
“A Federal High Court judgment had ruled against the illegal proscription of our union and same had been duly served on the Governor through the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
“We had earlier gotten the judgment and same had been served on Mr. Governor. The union has three different judgments from both the National Industrial Court and the Federal High Court. In spite of these, he went ahead to constitute an illegal committee called the park managers.
“With the fact that that NURTW is not in anyway under the parastatal of the government of any state, as regards the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“And same having been made known to the Governor via an open letter published in some National Papers in June 10, 2019 by the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba that ” workers and employers organization shall not be liable to be dissolved or suspended by administrative authority.”
The Union leaders, therefore called on members across the state to resist any attempt to impose ‘Auxiliary’ on them through the backdoor by Governor Makinde.
