PM News
Commercial Drivers in Lagos, under the aegis of Self-Employed Commercial Drivers Association of Nigeria (SECDAN) have issued two-week ultimatum to the Lagos State Government to stop the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) from extorting them.
SECDAN vowed that after the expiration of the ultimatum, it would be forced to use all existing peaceful means to encourage a change in the transport sector for other states to follow.
Lagos State Chairman, SECDAN, Alhaji Job Abifarin, in a statement on Tuesday said the NURTW and RTEAN agents were harassing and forcing each of its drivers to pay N30,000 to them on a daily basis.
Abifarin lamented that over the years, the activities of NURTW/RTEAN in Lagos roads had been discovered to be alien, illegal and as one that did not conform with any known economic logic or political explanation in the world.
“Even as we don’t want to comment on the existence and acceptability of the 2 organisations in the State, we believe that their role in the transport sector of the State should by now be seen as an embarrassment and unfortunate in Lagos State, the so called Centre of Excellence in the country and a Mega City in the world.
“Today, no one is unaware of the touts’ activities across all bus stops, and garages in the State. They are violent, they maim, they destroy, they have no respect or any regard to the laws of the State, they are irresponsible and very embarrassing to everything the Transport Sector represents to Lagos State.
“For record, drivers and owners in Lagos State today are frustrated and amazed of the annoying silence of the State Government to the glaring violent and illegal extortions of the Unions’ Agent in the State, even in the midst of the fact that most drivers do not belong to their Unions or are actually members of different Associations and…
