Protesting Ogun commercial drivers seek govt intervention

The protesting minibus drivers in Ogun State on Tuesday stormed the Ministry of Transportation complex in Abeokuta to express their displeasure over alleged extortion and multiple levies by their union executive.

They also appealed to the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the Commissioner for Transportation, Gbenga Dairo, to intervene and end the incessant extortions, harassment, and attacks by the union officers.

According to Metro reported on Tuesday that the drivers had protested along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Monday against the union executive.

They noted that the multiple levies imposed on them by transport union workers, otherwise known as agberos, had subjected them to severe hardship.

The drivers lamented that the transport union fee, previously a cumulative sum of N4,000 to N6,000 per day, had been increased to between N6,000 and N10,000.

Our correspondent who monitored the protest on Tuesday observed that the drivers stormed the transportation ministry’s complex and presented their demands to an official.

Their demands included a call for the reversal of the increased levies, eradication of multiple tickets, removal of agberos along the expressway by limiting their activities to designated parks, and an end to arbitrary fees such as “Owo Chairman” (Chairman’s fee), “Owo King of Boys” (King of Boys levy), and “Owo Marker” (Marker levy), among others.

Speaking on behalf of the drivers, Abiodun Owolabi stressed that with the new increase, drivers would have to pay about N11,000 in union levies daily.

He noted that the new levies would further worsen the hardship faced by the drivers.

In his words, “We have a lot of complaints, including the outrageous hike in ticket prices. They keep increasing the ticket prices almost every week. We collect a ticket at every bus stop within a kilometre. The stretch of road that we ply daily is about 10km from Mowe to Arepo, and we are collecting about eight tickets.

“If we calculate the money we spend on levies, it amounts to about N8,000 daily. With the new increase, it’s around N11,000.

“What we are earning is little, and what we are giving out is too much. This is affecting our daily income, and we are appealing to the governor and the commissioner to come to our aid,” he added.

Another driver, Ogunlade Idowu, added that contrary to what is applicable in other local government areas where drivers operate with a single ticket, the union executive in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area imposed eight tickets on them.

“We have made our investigation, and this is only happening in the Obafemi Local Government Area. This is even a federal road, so why are they making life hard for us? Look at the current economy of the country; is this the time to increase the ticket fee?” he asked.

Responding to the drivers’ concerns, a senior official of the state Ministry of Transportation, who did not want to be named, stressed that the ministry was concerned about the issues raised by the drivers and was committed to addressing them.

He urged the protesting drivers to submit their grievances in writing for the ministry to take necessary action.

“We have received your complaints and are very much concerned about them. As the regulatory ministry, it is our responsibility to look into them. Please, put your complaints in writing so that necessary actions can be taken,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Secretary of the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria, Tiwalade Akingbade, on Monday, dismissed the drivers’ allegations as untrue.

He stressed that the union and the drivers had a misunderstanding earlier on Monday, which was resolved at the police station.