Members of the Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria (JDWAN) in Lagos State have called off their industrial action.
The national leader of the association, Abiodun Akintade; the chairman, Opeyemi Sulaiman and general secretary, Ajimatanarareje Feyisayo, made this announcement on Monday afternoon during a meeting with the Lagos State Parks and Garages Management at the latter’s secretariat in Agege.
The trio and two others that spoke lamented the “nefarious activities” of “the boys” that demanded money from JDWAN members at every bus stop.
According to them, there are about 25 bus stops between Badagry and Alaba in Orile where “the boys” are stationed to collect money.
This, they said, rip them off their daily earnings.
“We are working like elephants and eating like ants. We appeal to you to look into this,” the group said.
They also complained about extortion by officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force), and Rapid Response Squad (RRS).
According to them, the Task Force officials collect as much as N150,000 whenever any of their vehicles was impounded.
They said the union leaders in their various parks left them to their fate anytime security agents arrested any of them.
“Our branch chairmen are not looking after our welfare and they abandon us whenever security officials arrest us. This should not be the case. After all, they collect dues from us,” the aggrieved bus drivers said.
The chairman of Lagos State Parks and Garages Management, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya (MC Oluomo), immediately set up a task force comprising 10 branch chairmen, nine members of the JDWAN and other nominees from the chairman of the Committee of Lagos State Parks Administration, Oba Sulaiman Adeshina-Ashade, the Oniba of Iba, to rid the bus stops of “those boys.”
Akinsanya said the task force has one month to complete the job.
He promised to liaise with the state Commissioner for Transportation and Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation to nip the illegal activities of the LASTMA and Task Force officials in the bud.
According to him, the highest fine for any erring commercial bus operator is N20,000, describing the N150,000 fine alleged by the bus drivers as unacceptable.
“All you complained about are true and we will start addressing them now. We want to see changes within a month. Once the task force we set up here concludes its assignment on Lagos-Badagry Expressway, they will move to Ikorodu Road. My administration will not allow any bus driver to suffer. They work hard and should enjoy the wealth derived from their sweat,” he said.
Akinsanya urged the branch chairmen to live up to expectations by looking after the welfare of their members.
By Saheed Salawu
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