NURTW At Loggerheads With Taxi Owners

The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has faulted Taxi Owners and Drivers Welfare Association (TODWA) for not inviting the union to the inauguration of the “One Chance Must Go” campaign.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday, the Chairman of NURTW, Jabi branch, Mr. Lawrence Fadipe, admitted sending members of the union to stop the event.

Fadipe said TODWA, an association under the union, ought to have honoured it with an invitation.

He further queried why TODWA forced members of the union to attend the event.

“I personally sent the members to stop them from forcing people, but the way the men approached them caused the conflict that led to the arrest of members by the police,” Fadipe said.

He said that the matter was settled amicably when he went to Garki Police station in Abuja to bail the detained members.

Fadipe pointed out that only taxis with AMAC sticker would be permitted to operate in the six area councils.

“When the sticker was introduced by AMAC, I personally went to plead with them to reduce the amount because N7,000 was too much and they agreed.

“I started selling the stickers for N3,000 each, yet many of them refused to buy, and so they will continue to stop them until they obey,” he explained.

The Secretary of TODWA, Mr Fidelis Edohe, told NAN that failure to notify NURTW was deliberate.

He said, “We deliberately decided not to inform the union due to several cases of maltreatment we faced in their hands.

“We registered with the union, buy tickets daily, but the task force still stopped us from carrying passengers in the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.

He further explained that the union believed that TODWA had thugs among them, who were responsible for several cases of “One chance” robbery attack. .

Edohe said that they had collaborated with the police to sensitise their members on good behaviour and how to relate with their passengers as well as report any robbery case.

NAN recalled that members of NURTW and TODWA had engaged in a free-for-all prior to the flag-off of the programme at the Old Parade Ground, Abuja on Nov. 3.