Clash: Lagos reads riot act to NURTW

Following a violent clash by warring members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Isolo, Lagos State government has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the state chapter of the union to resolve the differences between its members or risk being banned.

The state government also ordered all mechanics workshop sited under bridges across the state to relocate immediately or face arrest.

Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, gave the ultimatum at the inauguration ceremony of the Committee on Park Monitoring Committee and Abandoned Vehicles held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Ikeja.

Opeifa warned that, if by Monday, the union fails to resolve the crisis, the committee would take over the activities at the Isolo motor park.

He said “This does not include other motor garages. However, if should there be any clash in any of the motor parks in the state, the Parks and Monitoring Committee is saddled with the responsibility to take over the management of the motor garage immediately pending the time the state concluded its investigation on the cause of the clash.”

“We are disturbed with the activities of the NURTW in creating tension in the state. We have contacted the national leadership of the NURTW in the country, and they said that the leadership of NURTW in the state remain intact” the commissioner added.

The commissioner stated that the Parks and Monitoring Committee will assist the state government in monitoring the motor garages in order to forestall any future crisis there and also ensure that they operate in accordance with the laws.

According to him, “The committee is also saddled with the responsibility to liaise with Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to ensure that the sanitation laws of the state are strictly adhered in all the parks. But if any garage fails to meet the standard set by LAWMA, the committee will clamp down on the garage.”

On the abandoned and disused vehicles, the commissioner stated that it was against the backdrop of public outcry against the alarming rate of parking of abandoned vehicles in the state that prompted Governor Babatunde Fashola to approve the creation of the committee.

The 16-man committee is expected to impound all vehicles that fall within the category and fine the owners according to the charges approved by the state ministry of transportation.

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By OLASUNKANMI AKONI & MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

Source: Vanguard