Ex-NURTW chieftain urges NLC to steer clear of union internal crisis

Alhaji Moshood Ajao, former Deputy General Secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), has urged the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to stay out of NURTW internal squabbles.

Alhaji Ajao, who was concerned by the inclusion of the alleged “siege” of the NURTW’s national office in Garki 2, Abuja, as one of the NLC’s six demands to the federal government, appealed for peace within the ranks of the union.

In a statement, the former Deputy General Secretary stated that the presence of the police at the NURTW offices was at the request of the union’s current management.

Alhaji Ajao maintained that Alhaji Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa’s tenure as NURTW National President ended on August 28, 2023, and questioned why the NLC is protesting the presence of the Police, who were invited by the incumbent President, Alhaji Tajudeen Badiru Agbede, to maintain law and order.Alhaji Ajao, who worked as a career officer for 35 years before retiring as Deputy General Secretary of the union, stated that the development at the national level of NURTW is in compliance with the union’s constitution.

He said that both the former President, Alhaji Baruwa, and the current President, Alhaji Agbede, are from the south west, and that the zone supports the incumbent President, Alhaji Agbede.

The former Deputy General Secretary stated that Alhaji Baruwa’s term as President caused an unprecedented setback for NURTW in the south west, claiming that his alleged high-handedness caused five of the six states in the zone to halt NURTW activities, leaving just Ekiti state.

Ajao urged the NLC to remove the presence of police at NURTW headquarters from the list of labour demands for the federal government to remove subsidies.