Some leaders of the proscribed National Union of Toad Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo state on Thursday rejected the alleged introduction of motor parks manager by the state government.
Besides, the people also threatened unrest if the state government went ahead to install Mr Mukaila Lamidi, popularly known as Auxiliary, as the state motor parks manager.
A statement signed by some leaders of the union after an emergency meeting in Ibadan appealed to security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders and leaders of thoughts to prevail on the state governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, from appointing Lamidi.
The statement was jointly signed by some NURTW leaders including Alhaji Abideen Olajide (a.k.a. Ejiogbe); Otunba Lekan Aleshinloye; Alhaji Lateef Opeyemi; Alhaji Kasali Lawal; Alhaji Isiaq Ajetunmobi; Comrade Taiwo Adesanya; among others.
They alleged that an aide of the Governor had invited some of them to the state secretariat and sought their cooperation with impending inauguration of Lamidi as the State motor parks manager.
The NURTW leaders expressed their surprise that “the Governor who swore to uphold the constitution could prop up an illegal committee under the name of Parks 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)”.
“Constitutionally, the responsibility of the administration of our vehicles is saddled with our union, the 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. Inspite of these, he went ahead to constitute an illegal committee called the park managers.
“The so-called Mukaila Lamidi, who he made the Motor Parks Manager had long been expelled from the union and had since ceased to be a member of the union as far back as October 2011.
“With the fact 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 on June 10, 2019, by the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba that “workers and employers organisation shall not be liable to be dissolved or suspended by administrative authority.”
“We, therefore, call on our members across the state to resist any attempt to impose “Auxiliary” on our union through the backdoor by Governor Seyi Makinde”.