The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NURTW

  • NURTW hails Ambode on LASTMA

    NURTW hails Ambode on LASTMA

    National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Lagos chapter, Financial Secretary Tokunbo Seriki has hailed Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on his directives to protect road users against harassment.

    He said Ambode’s directive that the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials should not to arrest road users would serve as a relief to motorists who have been subjected to unnecessary exploitation.

    Seriki urged road users not to abuse the governor’s gesture, noting that it was the change the people had looked forward to in the new administration.

    “We must be frank, Governor Ambode meant well for Lagosians. We must not abuse this gesture, there is need to obey traffic rules and regulation,” he said.

    He hailed members of the union for the peaceful way they conducted themselves during its delegate conference at Abuja.

  • NURTW leader shot

    National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) leader, Ademola Taiwo, has been shot by unknown people in Ilupeju, Lagos.

    Taiwo popularly known as “Siro” or the “Emir of Ilupeju”, was shot around Ilupeju junction early on Sunday, while he was returning from a party.

    The Nation gathered that Taiwo, who is contesting for chairman in the forthcoming NURTW election, was accosted by the gunmen who ordered him out of his car.

    Taiwo, it was learnt, alighted and demanded to know who the armed men were to intimidate him in his territory.

    He was said to have been rushed to a nearby hospital by security operatives who came to his rescue following a tip off.

    The police were said to have engaged in a gun duel with the gunmen, who escaped through Vono road.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, told The Nation that the police took Taiwo to another hospital for security reasons, adding that no one know the hospital’s name.

    The source said: “It is true that he was shot. The armed men stopped him while he was driving home and wanted to collect his car.

    “He came down from his Honda car and asked who they were and why they dared oppress him in his territory.

    They demanded that he should give them the key to his Sport Utility Vehicle but he refused and struggled with them.

    “The men shot him on his side stomach and before they could shoot again, he punched one of them and fled.

    “They rained several bullets in his car, which he left behind and damaged it severely before they escaped through the railway and passed Vono road.

    “Many people believe it was an assassination attack because he is contesting as chairman of NURTW in the state.”

    His loyalists have taken to social media to pray for his quick recovery.

    At the time of filing this report, it was learnt that he is in a stable condition.

     

  • NURTW urges drivers on traffic law

    NURTW urges drivers on traffic law

    The Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, yesterday warned commercial drivers against violating traffic laws.

    He described as a welcome development, the decision by the Lagos State government to stop the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) from impounding vehicles.

    The government last week ordered LASTMA to release to their owners, seized vehicles and should henceforth impose fines on offenders.

    Agbede said the decision would make drivers more responsible.

    He said a task force had been mandated to ensure sanity on the roads by promoting free flow of traffic.

     

  • Activists hails NURTW chief

    Activists hails NURTW chief

    A group, Concerned Human Rights Nigeria (CHRN) yesterday hailed the Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede for his matured leadership.

    CHRN National Coordinator Comrade Declan Ihekaire at a briefing said there has been unassailable “reign of peace” in the conduct of the affairs of Lagos NURTW recently.

    Ihekaire said: “We believe all Lagos residents recognise and appreciate the efforts of the current leadership. People do not witness perennial mourning of state chairmen of NURTW, violence, armed robberies and rape in the motor parks antmore.”

    He condemned what he called a misleading report that the national secretariat of NURTW has dissolved all zonal and state executive councils. He said the report which was intended to cause confusion had been refuted by the union’s General Secretary, Comrade Element Wetkur.

    According to him: “It was a sinister plot by some unpatriotic elements to cause chaos and confusion within the union when the tenure of the state executive has not lapsed. It was the figment of evil machination to spread the rumours that the Lagos Council has been dissolved when the current term of four years has not lapsed and when the constitution did not stop any state officer from holding national office simultaneously”.

  • Police warn NURTW members against violence

    The Lagos State Police Command and the Directorate of State Service yesterday warned members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) against creating chaos in the state over leadership crisis.

    The warning came on the premise that leadership of the union had been sacked by the national body.

    At a meeting with NURTW Lagos Chairman Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, the security chiefs urged those trying to cause trouble to have a rethink.

    Owoseni, who was represented by Mr Babatunde Kokumo, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, said: “The command is not interested in the affairs of the union. Our main preoccupation is to maintain law and order, so, we are ready to deal with anybody trying to cause confusion in the state. Your union is very important to us in that we need information from you to combat crimes. We are focusing on intelligence gathering; hence we need your support.”

    Agbede described as rumour the dissolution of state councils by the national body.

    “This is to inform you that all the zonal, state councils, branches and unit executives remain intact. l am using this opportunity to tell you to disregard the rumour,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the police said it arrested 14 suspected cult members for allegedly terrorising Mushin residence.

    The command’s spokesperson, Patricia Amadin, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a statement said the suspects were arrested on Monday at Mushin Area of Lagos.

    She said: “In a bid to make good its promise to chase out armed robbers and cultists from the state, the command has smashed a notorious robbery/cultist group. This group has continuously unleashed terror on the residents of Mushin and Idi-Oro Areas of Lagos.”

    According the statement, the command swooped in on the gang and 14 members were arrested following a tip off.

    It stated that the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, urged the people of Lagos to be calm and continue to furnish the police with useful information.

    Owoseni also warned all cult members and robbers to desist, saying the police would employ all legal means to deal with them, their sponsors and benefactors.

    He added that unless the group desists from its nefarious activities, there shall be no hiding place for them.

     

  • NURTW state executives intact, says president

    The President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, has directed that all the zonal councils, state councils, branch and unit executives in the states should remain intact.

    He said this in a statement yesterday.

    Yasin has been returned unopposed for a second term as the union’s president.

    In the statement, Yasin debunked the rumour making the round, especially in the  Southwest that all the state councils had been dissolved.

    He said:  “All the zonal councils, state councils, branches and unit executives remain intact and status quo must be maintained throughout the federation.

    “All state chairmen must be alive to their responsibilities by ensuring that nobody is allowed to foment trouble in their domain.”

    Yasin appealed to members of the union to remain peaceful. He also called on all security agencies, especially the police, to maintain the peace and order at motor-parks.

  • NURTW members, FRSC clash in Osun

    NURTW members, FRSC clash in Osun

    • Many injured, vehicles destroyed

    Members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Osun State yesterday engaged men of the Federal Road Safety Commission in violent clash.

    Many people were injured and vehicles, including a van belonging to the FRSC, were destroyed.

    Some officers of the FRSC were seriously beaten and injured. A commercial driver was also said to be in coma.

    It was gathered that the fracas started when the FRSC officers, led by the Sector Commander, Muhammad Husaini, impounded about 15 vehicles belonging to the members of the NURTW, which allegedly contravened traffic laws during their patrol along Gbongan road.

    Investigation revealed that when a FRSC official jumped into one of the impounded vehicles and ordered the driver to drive to their office, the latter allegedly drove to another destination, where his colleagues joined him in beating up the officer.

    The FRSC Sector Commander said: “A bus was impounded in front of our office here and was ordered to be driven to the premises. So, one of my boys entered it. Surprisingly, the driver drove away with the officer and I had to order my men to follow them to save our man that was in the bus.

    “But when they got to Olaiya Junction, the NURTW members mobilised their colleagues and beat up the officer in their bus before they were later brought to our office.

    “They broke the windscreens of about seven cars in the process. They also attacked one of our men with charms before we took him to a native doctor for remedy.‎

    “But now, two persons have been arrested in connection with the crisis and we are going to press charges against them.”

    The state secretary of NURTW, Alhaji Abdulazeez Najeem, denied that his members were responsible for smashing of the windscreens of some vehicles during the clash.

    He admitted that there was a rift between some drivers, motorcyclists and the FRSC officers.

    He urged the police to investigate the matter and bring the culprits to book.

  • NURTW/RTEAN clash: Court remands 11

    An Ilorin Magistrate’s Court has remanded 11 persons over Sunday’s transport workers’ clash at Offa in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State.

    The clash between members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) claimed one life. Scores were injured.

    The suspects are Ganiyu Fowomola (32), Toafeeq Popoola (43), Alhaji Rafiu Oyewole (60), Mudashiru Oyeniran (47), Alhaji Fatai Owoseni (59), AbdulRauf Ahmed (48), Aliu Yemi Rasheed (55), Oyeleke Abdul Lateef (64), Debo Babatunde (40), Alhaji Musbau Babalola (48) and Noah Opatola (53).

    The case was transferred from the area commander, Omu-Aran to the Criminal Investigation and Intelligent Department (CIID), Ilorin for investigation.

    The Police First Information Report (FIR) said: “On August 1, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) were at the School of Health Technology, Offa over who would carry students, who were travelling to Ekiti State for practical.

    “An argument ensued between NURTW and RTEAN members. NURTW members said they should be allowed to carry students in two buses and RTEAN should be given one bus.

    “Following the argument, a fight ensued. RTEAN office was torched. NURTW members vandalised the vehicles of four RTEAN members.

    “On August 2, Suraju Akanlonua, an NURTW member, while riding his motorcycle and carrying Ganiyu Fowomola, was killed with a machete on Abata Road, Offa.”

    The prosecutor, Sgt Adewunmi Johnson, told the court that investigation had not been concluded.

    He urged the court to remand the suspects in prison custody.

    Johnson argued that if they were granted bail, they would tamper with the investigation.

    The Magistrate, B.A. Immam, ordered the suspects be remanded at the Federal Prison, Mandalla.

    He adjourned the matter till August 18.

  • Award for NURTW boss, others

    Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Oyo State council and Patron of the Automobiles and Road Safety Initiative (ARSI), Alhaji Taofeek Oyerinde (Fele), will, on  September 9, be conferred with the award of State Auto Safety Ambassador.

    The ceremony will hold in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, during ARSI’s third annual Auto Tyre Safety Day themed: Be Tyre Smart; Drive Safely.

    The Iyaloja of Ibadan and patroness of the organisation, Mrs. Patience Labake Lawal, and Vice President of the Nigeria National Vulcanizers Association, Comrade Bashiru Adeyanju, will also be conferred with the same award at the event expected to attract over 5,000 participants. Among dignitaries expected to grace the occasion are the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi; Corps Marshal/Chief Executive of the federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi; Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Dr. Joseph Odumodu; the Iyalode of Ibadanland Mrs. Aminat Abiodun.

    Director-General of National Automotive Council Aminu Jalal will chair the event, which will have in attendance over 2,000 vulcanisers, 2,000 NURTW members, auto repair/maintenance technicians, tyre dealers, market men and women, among others.

     

  • Two policemen injured in Delta NURTW crisis

    … 44 suspects arrested

    Two policemen have been injured following the mayhem that trailed change of leadership by the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Uwvie Chapter in Delta State,
    The State Police Public Relations Officer DSP Tina Kalu in statement made available to The Nation on Saturday said the violence which characterised the emergence of Ariyor Francis as Chairman informed the deployment of policemen to the area.
    Kalu said a police team was mobilized to the scene but was attacked by protesters at Jakpa junction leading to the shooting of an Assistant Superintendent of police (ASP) in the buttocks.
    Part of the statement reads, ‘ On 29/7/2015 at about 0700hr, the Area Commander, Warri received information that following the change of leadership by the National Union of Road Transport workers Union (NURTW) Uvwie chapter, leading to the emergence of one Ariyor Francis ‘m’ as chairman, pockets of violent protests erupted in the area.
    ” Based on the report, patrol teams were quickly mobilized to the scene, and at Jakpa junction, the protesters shot at the policemen, as a result of which an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) was hit on his buttocks by a bullet from one of the protesters. The victim was rushed to central Hospital Warri for treatment. ” Later, the police re-enforced and trailed the protesters to Agofure Motor Park on NPA –DSC express way Warri where the said protesters had gathered to cause more crisis and destruction and arrested forty-four (44) male suspects. Some of the protesters also on the same date at about 1140hrs attacked policemen on duty at Dofect motor park Effurun, shooting sporadically into the air and in the process, a police sergeant was hit by stray bullet on his right elbow. The injured policeman was rushed to Nigeria Navy Hospital Effurun for treatment.”
    Kalu said the team following reinforcement trailed the protesters to Agofure Motors along NPA-DSC expressway where they had gathered to cause more crisis.
    The police image maker said some of the protesters on the same date attacked another policeman in Effurun on guard duty at Dofecgt Motors sustaining gunshot injuries in his right elbow.
    Kalu said normalcy has been restored.
    The police, she said, arrested forty four protesters were arrested in connection with the violence.
    Kalu said the injured policemen have been rushed to Warri Central Hospital and Nigeria Navy Hospital respectively.
    She warned members of the public to respect the laws of the land and refrain from taking laws into their hands