The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has inaugurated a seven-member caretaker committee to oversee its affairs in Osun State, despite the state government’s suspension of the union’s activities in motor parks.
The committee, chaired by Kazeem Oyewale (Asiri Eniba), was inaugurated on Friday, July 24, at the union’s national headquarters in Abuja.
The move comes days after Governor Ademola Adeleke suspended NURTW operations across motor parks in Osun, halted the collection of levies, and directed security agencies to arrest anyone operating in the name of the union following violent clashes between rival factions.
Speaking during the inauguration, NURTW President Musiliu Akinsanya (MC Oluomo), represented by his deputy Aliyu Issa Ore, rejected the state’s action, insisting the governor lacks the authority to suspend the union.
“Today, we heard that the state governor in Osun suspended the activities of our union, which they don’t have that power. Not any single state governor has power to suspend the activities of the union, because we are not under any state.”
Ore said the union had previously won similar legal disputes in other states and stressed that the national body was acting to restore leadership in Osun after repeated attempts to engage the state’s union leadership failed. He said: “We could not leave the activities of the union without having the leader on the ground. Today, it is my singular honour to inform you that these are the leadership that will be leading our union activities in Osun.”
He added that the caretaker committee was also necessary ahead of the upcoming Osun governorship election, citing the union’s existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). “We have to inaugurate the caretaker members… pending the time we resolve all issues attached to Osun.”