The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NURTW

  • Murder trial: Accused persons ‘interrogate’ lawyer

    Murder trial: Accused persons ‘interrogate’ lawyer

    There was a drama at the Ekiti State High Court 6 in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday when seven persons accused of complicity in the murder of ex-National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Chairman Omolafe Aderiye “interrogated” and “disowned” a lawyer, who announced appearance for them.

    Standing trial are Adebayo Aderiye (aka Ojuigo), Adeniyi Adedipe (aka Apase), Sola Durodola, Oso Farotimi (aka Oso Polo), Ajayi Kayode (aka Sir Kay), Joseph Olanbiwonnu (aka Mentilo) and Sola Adenijo (aka Solar).

    Omolafe was killed on September 25, 2014. The state filed a murder case against the suspects the next month after Governor Ayo Fayose assumed office. The slain former NURTW chief was an associate of the governor.

    The case was stalled at the lower court following non-hearing of an application filed by the state at the Court of Appeal, Ado-Ekiti Division.

    Families and associates of the accused on Monday protested at the Court of Appeal, urging the judges to expedite action on applications and motions before them, to allow the conclusion of trial at the High Court.

    Drama started after three lawyers announced their appearance before Justice Lekan Ogunmoye. Ahmed Tafa appeared for the prosecution, while Olowofela Adebayo announced appearance for the fifth and seventh defendants (Farotimi and Adenijo). Pamela Isinkinma appeared for the fourth defendant (Kayode).

    The accused grumbled about the appearance of Olowofela, whom they described as a “complete stranger to the case”. They said they suspected foul play.

    Justice Ogunmoye watched the drama, while the families and associates of the accused were bemused. They murmured.

    Aderiye said: “From which chamber are you?” The same question was echoed by Adenijo, who added in Yoruba: “Iwo o kii n se loya wa o”, meaning, “You are not our lawyer.”

    Adedipe said: “My lord, we don’t know this lawyer and we can’t allow him to speak for us. If indeed he is our lawyer, he should have exchanged pleasantries with us before hearing began. That is the normal scenario. We don’t know him sir.”

    As the lawyers agreed on a new date for the case, Olanbiwonnu told Olowofela in Yoruba: “Ma mu deeti fun wa o, ki lo n se ogbeni yii?”, meaning, “Don’t pick any date for us, what is wrong with this fellow?”

  • RTEAN: court has vindicated us against NURTW

    RTEAN: court has vindicated us against NURTW

    The Chairman of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Oyo State chapter, Prince Kehinde Adeyemo, has described the victory of his association against the Alhaji Taofeek Oyerinde-led National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), at the Oyo State High Court, as a welcome development.
    He said it was a huge leap for justice and rule of law.
    Adeyemo spoke yesterday at a media briefing at the
    association’s headquarters in Ibadan.
    He said the belief that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man has been established, adding that Governor Abiola Ajimobi is an agent of peace and a respecter of the rule of law.
    Adeyemo noted that the judgment by Justice R.B. Akintola of Court 6 has cleared the air that RTEAN has a right to operate in all local governments in Oyo State.

  • NURTW begs Ambode for new park

    NURTW begs Ambode for new park

    Members of the Ikeja branch of Lagos State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) yesterday appealed to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to provide them an alternative park following the demolition of their garage.

    They said their “forceful ejection” has paralysed their business, as they have not been able to gain access to the alternative chance provided for them.

    At a briefing at the demolished park, their Chairman, Alhaji Mudashiru Egbedire, said that since the demolition, “Over 4,000 commercial buses (danfo) drivers have been roaming without any means of livelihood.”

    According to Egbedire, the Lagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) had threatened through the Ministry of Transportation to demolish the park. The same task force, he said, carried out the threat on May 3.

    Government, he said, gave the union the land over 30 years ago during the Brig. Gen Olagunsoye Oyinlola administration to use as park.

    “When we complained to the government, they asked us to move to the side of railway line, but the place is too small, it can’t accommodate 4,000 of our members. They later asked us to move to a shopping complex but we were denied access,” the Chairman said.

    In a petition addressed to Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, the union appealed to the law markers for help.

    The March 13 petition, signed by its Secretary, Dr Matthew Oloko, said: “We passionately appeal to you to use your good office and treat this matter with ultimate urgency.”

  • FRSC advises motorists to use good wipers, tyres as rainy season commences

    FRSC advises motorists to use good wipers, tyres as rainy season commences

    Mr Yusuf Salami, Oyo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), on Thursday urged motorists to ensure that they had good wipers and tyres as the rainy season commenced.

    Salami gave the advice on Thursday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

    He said that motorists plying the road during rains without good wiper and tyre were endangering their lives and those of other road users.

    He said that good wiper would enable clear visibility of the windscreen during the rain, while vehicle with good tyre would grip well whenever the brake was applied during rain.

    The sector commander advised motorists to park and wait when they felt that they could not move well due to heavy rain than to continue driving and kill themselves.

    Salami condemned a situation whereby parents allowed underage children to drive believing that they were making them comfortable.

    “The corps made it clear to parents that they are putting those children to death.

    “It is an offence for children below 18 years to drive on Nigerian roads because they lack proper knowledge of the rules and regulations on road usage.

    “The corps will continue to check these anomalies and the vehicle of anybody caught will be impounded while the parent of such a child will be invited and fined accordingly.

    “We will also educate such parents on why they should not put the lives of their children in danger because the corps was not interested in the fine but to ensure that lives of road users are safe,’’ Salami said.

    The sector commander advised drivers who were in the habit of drinking alcohol while driving to desist from the act, saying the corps had a machine that could easily detect such driver.

    He said that vehicle of any driver discovered to have taken alcohol would be impounded to deter the driver from driving while drunk.

    “We will let the passengers, if the driver is a transporter, be aware that they are being driven by a drunk as we impound the vehicle.

    “If it is in a place that we can call the union, we would call them to bring another vehicle to carry the passengers,’’ Salami said.

    He said that the corps had been and would continue to engage in series of public enlightenment and sensitisation campaign in motor parks, market places, Mosques and Churches, among others.

    Salami said that the purpose of the campaign was to let the public know why they should abide by the rules and regulations of road usage.

    He said that the corps needed collaboration of members of the public and various unions such as the NURTW to educate the road users as the corps could not do it alone.

  • NURTW rejects speed limiter

    NURTW rejects speed limiter

    The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has rejected the speed limiter introduced by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), warning that the device can compound commuters’ woes.

    The union urged the FRSC to stop the enforcement of the device to avoid “putting FRSC men on collision course with commercial drivers.”

    FRSC started the enforcement of speed limiters on commercial vehicles on February 1.

    The union made its stand known in a communiqué issued at the end of its Central Working Committee (CWC)/ National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the NURTW Zone 2 headquarters in Osogbo, Osun state, at the weekend.

    Signed by its President, Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, and Secretary General, Comrade Clement Wetkur, the union said the enforcement had been “making life unbearable for drivers.”

    It cautioned that “attempt to enforce the device on motorists would apart from compounding the already bad traffic situation on the highways, also continue to create serious battle between FRSC officials and our members (drivers) plying the nation’s highways”

    The union disagreed with the FRSC position that the device was introduced to curb accident.

    It urged the FRSC to adopt global practice and apply the generally preferred Spider technology System which is designed to curb accident by tracking over speeding vehicles.

  • Ban on `danfo’: Lagos NURTW asks member not to panic

    The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Lagos Chapter, on Tuesday advised its members not to panic over the proposed ban on operations of yellow commercial buses.

    The state Chairman of the union, Mr Tajudeen Agbede, gave the advice in an interview with the agency reporters in Lagos.

    Lagos State Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode had on Feb. 6 announced a plan to stop operations of yellow commercial buses popularly known as `danfo’ for a more efficient, well-structured and world-class mass transport system.

    Ambode said that the well-structured transport system would ease movement within the state and make Lagos cleaner without burdening the people in terms of taxes.

    Agbede told NAN that the union was discussing the proposed ban with the government, adding that the union was ready to cooperate with the state government on its mega city project.

    “We are still discussing with the government on the proposed ban on yellow buses, but we believe it is going to yield a positive result.

    “The union is ready to comply with the conditions of making the state a mega city.

    “We are ready to change the colour of our buses and also comply with the directive to follow the service lanes,” Agbede said.

    According to him, the union members are also ready to refurbish their vehicles to attain mega city standards.

  • NURTW ‘not part of Abule Egba fracas’

    NURTW ‘not part of Abule Egba fracas’

    The Lagos State Council of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has dissociated itself from last weekend’s fracas involving tricycle operators at Abule Egba. Two persons were reported dead during the incident.
    Its chairman, Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, explained that his union, had been following the Ministry of Transportation’s directive on the operation of Tricycle Operators Association of Nigeria (TOAN).
    He said the government had revoked the operational approval giving to TOAN, adding that the group’s continued operation in some parks belonging to NURTW is illegal and an attempt to create crisis.
    Agbede said: “We are not saying those who want to go should not go, but they cannot go with our property. Operational parks are part of our property. They can go, but they must leave our parks. We believe in the freedom of association.”
    He urged security agencies to ensure that peace reigned in all the parks in the state.

  • Two feared killed, scores injured as NURTW members, tricyclists clash

    Two feared killed, scores injured as NURTW members, tricyclists clash

    Two persons were feared killed and several others injured when National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) members and tricycle operators clashed in Abule Egba, Lagos.

    Residents of Owode Street and environs have fled their homes following the incident.

    The casualities were said to be passersby hit by stray bullets. Two tricyclists, Michael Taiwo and Komolafe Lekan, were allegedly shot by soldiers attached to Operation (OP) MESA patrol vehicle marked LSD529CX.

    The soldiers, said to have been invited by NURTW, allegedly fired sporadically.

    Taiwo and Lekan have been undergone surgery at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

    The Nation gathered that the clash followed the tricyclist’s union’s disengagement from NURTW.

    Two NURTW loyalties were apprehended and handed over to policemen at Meiran. A pistol was recovered from one of them.

    Owode Community Development Association Chairman Baba Seriki, who confirmed that people were fleeing their homes, urged the government to resolve the crisis.

    He said: “There has been tension in this area since Monday. But it was on Saturday night that the two groups fought. We have been seeing thugs carrying cutlasses and bottles roaming the street. In fact, a young boy who came to live with a relative ran away that same day after seeing the thugs.

    “Since Saturday night, people have been leaving. It was a terrible experience. I went out and was coming back around 6pm, but was greeted with gunshots. People were just running towards different directions to avoid being caught up in the war.

    “This is something the government is aware of. They know about this crisis and so, I don’t understand why they can’t find a solution to it.”

    Abule Egba Tricycle Operators’ Union, Chairman Lukmon Ogede said one of those arrested claimed that they were sent to kill him.

    According to him, the suspect mentioned the name of an NURTW chief who hired them for the job.

    He said: “They were sent to kill me. One of the suspects was caught with a pistol and he confessed that they asked them to kill me.

    “The only problem is that we have said we want to be on our own. We have our own certificate and are now affiliated to Trade Union Council (TUC). But NURTW wants us to still be under them so that they would be taxing us heavily as they usually do.

    “We refused and they have been going round our parks, causing trouble. We didn’t fight back. They were the ones that attacked us. Two of our men are in the hospital battling for their lives as I talk to you.

    “The thugs still came today (yesterday). My people told me they are at Kola. We have informed the police and we hope that those behind the crisis would be arrested and prosecuted.”

    Police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), said the matter was being investigated.

    She confirmed that the police recovered a locally made cut to size pistol and a live cartridge.

  • Speed limiters scarce, says NURTW

    Speed limiters scarce, says NURTW

    Lagos state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) yesterday said its members were finding it difficult to get speed limit devices in the market.
    Its Chairman, Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, said many members were complaining of unavailability of the devices. He spoke against the backdrop of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) enforcement of commercial buses’ use of speed limiters from February 1.
    “We are ready to comply with the policy, but the challenges we are facing is the non-availability of the devices. The union members supported the idea of using the devices in our vehicles.
    “But government should put in place a designated place where people can have access to purchase and fix the devices,” he said.
    Lagos State FRSC Sector Commander, Hyginius Omeje, had told NAN that experts and professionals to fix the devices had been introduced to the union at various motor parks.
    The experts, he said, had been introduced to the union during the advisory enforcement.
    “We have assigned to each park various sales companies and agents involved in the sales and fixing of speed limiters.
    “There is no excuse for any of them in purchasing and fixing the devices,” he had said.

  • Yuletide: FRSC, NURTW collaborate on road safety

    Yuletide: FRSC, NURTW collaborate on road safety

    Nigerian motorists and other road users have been assured of safe and secured movement across the country as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) expressed their readiness to collaborate in ensuring that roads in Lagos State are safe for motorists and the general public during the festive season.

    The FRSC Isolo unit commander, Hauwa Olowookere, an Assistant Corps Commander (ACC), said the promised safety on roads across the state will be achieved through effective enforcement of road safety rules and regulations. She however said her men require the cooperation of commercial drivers.

    Olowookere, who said that there are no such things as demons lurking on the roads to take cause road accidents and take lives every December, blamed the high rate of road mishaps on reckless driving as she urged then to stop giving what she described as the common excuse to cover up their recklessness.

    She said this during the official flag off of the command’s 2016  “Ember months” awareness campaign, titled “Crash the crash – speed kills,” held at Cele motor Park, in the Isolo area of Lagos.

    Explaining further, she said the campaign was organised to step up road safety consciousness amongst the motoring publics, towards ensuring proper use of the highways during the yuletide. She added that “FRSC has put in place measures to ensure sanity on our roads during the festive period and beyond, and that informed the management’s decision on the campaign theme.

    Continuing, she said from the analysis of Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) recorded between January and November 2016, innocent lives have been lost in avoidable crashes and whenever these crashes occur, “we tend to ignore the human factor and rather make assumptions.

    “It is common for us all to say things like “crashes happen every where, they are caused by bad roads’ and even “during Ember months, demons are on the roads to take lives”. But the truth is that it is usually the recklessness of the drivers that causes accident and take innocent lives. There are no demons on the road,” she said.

    Endorsing the collaboration during the campaign, members of the NURTW who spoke said it is important for them to go back to the various parks in the state and sensitise their members on the need to drive carefully during the Ember months. Many of them agreed with the FRSC commander’s assertion that recklessness is largely responsible for the high rate of road rages in the Ember months.

    ACC Chinwedu Iwuoha, the Unit Commander FRSC in Ikotun, while addressing members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) said, “drivers need to stop believing there is a jinx surrounding ember months. There is no jinx. It is just that we are overzealous. We want to make more money than what we have been realising since January. We have to stop these acts and make good use of the road; watch your speed and not your time.”

    On his part, Mr. Olokodana, Head Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) Isolo, said “regardless of the speed, whatever you will make in a day is what you will make.” He also said tricycle riders are gradually becoming a menace on the roads and need to put a check on their attitude.

    Officers of the FRSC and members of NURTW moved from street to street,  telling drivers not only to drive carefully to reduce road traffic crashes, but also to avoid alcoholic beverages before and while driving. Passengers were also told to report drunk drivers as a way of preventing road accidents.