24th August, 2010
Weeks after the Oyo State Government proscribed the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State, the sacked chairman of the union, Alahji Lateef Salako a.k.a. Eleweomo, is still in control of the motor parks in the state.
P.M.NEWS findings revealed that up till the time of filing this report, it is Eleweomo who is collecting fees from commercial drivers at different motor parks in the state.
Interactions with NURTW members who collect money from drivers revealed that they belong to Eleweomo’s faction as they disclosed that the proscription is to frustrate the legitimate chairman of the union, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola a.k.a. Tokyo from taking over the affairs of the union as ordered by the National Industrial Court (NIC).
In a chat with newsmen in Ibadan, Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, had restated that the proscription of the union is justified, saying that the state would not have known peace if the union has not been banned.
According to him, “since we banned the union, don’t we have peace in Oyo State? We do. If the banning of NURTW will bring peace in the state, it remains banned for life.â€
He berated Senator Lekan Balogun for asking that the union be unbanned, saying that Balogun had previously called for the banning of the union with the prosecution of Tokyo and Adedibu for disturbing the peace of the land.
He described Balogun as an empty barrel that makes the loudest noise stressing that he is dead politically as he could not contest for any election and win in the state.
Reacting, Senator Balogun described the governor as an individual who is intellectually bankrupt.
He berated the governor for relying so much on hoodlums like Eleweomo for the realization of his 2011 governorship ambition.
Tokyo also berated the governor for being desperate for second term, stressing that his second term ambition has blinded him to the rule of law.
—Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan