In order to prevent the October 2, 2023, labor and federal government agreement from being cut short, Comrade Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa, President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), has once again urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to summon Solomon Lalong, Minister of Labor and Employment, to order.According to Baruwa, the Minister's actions thus far have demonstrated bias by taking a stance.
with the purportedly biased Tajudeen Agbede and Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin-led faction.
In Abuja yesterday, he made this statement while providing an update on the state of affairs surrounding the union's raging leadership issue.
According to Baruwa, the Minister's inaction in carrying out his order to halt both groups' operations, including the holding of any more elections, indicates that there has been compromise.
He said that by assisting the Agbede-led faction in holding unlawful delegate conferences in defiance of both his own mandate and the union's constitution, the Minister had abandoned his promise.
"You may remember that the NLC had an agreement with the federal government and promised to resolve our matter on or before October 13," the President stated. "The Federal Ministry of Labour invited us for a meeting on October 12 but the meeting could not take place because of the thuggery associated with Usman Yasin and the Agbede group."
"We believed the minister had been compromised because their group had not complied with the minister's directive to stop further union activities, and the ministry had not taken action to enforce its directive. Their meeting with the minister on Wednesday, October 18 confirmed our suspicions.
"Whatever they try to show that the minister or any other government agent is with them cannot deny that they used brute force to break into the National Secretariat of the Union, so also nothing can justify them parading as legitimate leaders of the union NURTW," the so-called conference on October 25th made this very evident.
As a result, we are urging all participants, pertinent authorities, and the general public to dismiss the opposition group and the people they represent.
He claimed that in holding the 10th National Quadrennial Delegate Conference, his administration complied with every requirement set forth in the constitution.
He clarified that no member from any zone had yet complained about being executed or prevented from taking part in the election process, pointing out that only Mr. Agbede and Akin Adeosun had made the independent decision to decline to participate in writing through legal counsel.
"Astonishingly, following the completion of the constitutional election process as outlined in Article 9 sections 13–16 and Article 8, section 2(1), Alh. Usman Yasin, who had been the union president for almost ten years and had attempted unsuccessfully to usurp power, now went so low as to attempt to obtain power covertly by encouraging and instigating the use of force to seize control of the National Secretariat and by holding elections that are not recognized by the union's constitution.
As a result, their alleged conferences on October 25 and October 5, which involved all zonal delegates, are not only unlawful but also inconclusive. As a matter of fact, the Deputy's appointment as acting President and the officers' swearing-in are completely void and have no bearing at all.
As he bowed out of the organization, Comrade Anthony Asogwa Chukwudi, the union's general secretary, received honors for his distinguished service and reaching retirement age. Comrade Suleiman Abdulkadir Musa has been appointed as the acting general secretary of the union.
Asogwa expressed gratitude to the union for the chance to serve them in a variety of roles and for the assistance he received when he assumed the role of general secretary, becoming the first person from the South-East geopolitical zone to hold such a high position since the union's founding.