Crisis is brewing in the Edo State chapter of Tipper Drivers Association (TDA) as aggrieved members of the association appeal to the Oba of Benin, Edo State government and security agents to call their chairman, Comrade Austin Nosa Uhumwangho to order.
The aggrieved members of the association who, through a peaceful protest in Benin City accused the chairman of high-handedness, victimisation, oppression as well as arbitrary suspension of members.
Speaking to journalists during the protest, Comrade Osaro Aigbekaen, said that over 150 drivers of the association had been suspended by the chairman without recourse to due diligence, adding that 50 field workers were also affected.
“On January 28,, Mr. Austin Nosa Uhumwangho, the chairman of the Edo State Tipper Drivers Association, came up with a constitution which he claimed he has amended.
“That he has amended it to five years tenure and he is going to be the president of the association, a nomenclature that is strange to us.
“On April 27, he came with another constitution which says that the chairman is going to be known as president with a five-year single tenure.
“We rejected his proposal and the amended constitution outright. Due to the rejection of the constitution, he started to witch-hunt us with arbitrary suspension.
“Instead of us to engage him violently, we decided to cry to the necessary authorities for help. We wrote a petition to the Department of State Services (DSS), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Commissioner of Police, Zone 5 and to the governor of the state.
“We were invited by the DSS on June 6 for a meeting, but the meeting did not succeed .because they never wanted the DSS to give peace to the issue.
“We were also invited by the AIG Zone 5 while we went to honour the invitation, himself and his allies were busy announcing our illegal suspension at the association’s headquarters in Benin City”, he stated.
Collaborating Aigbekaen in their separate reactions, Joseph Idahosa, Akugie Eromosele Kenneth, Festus Emoku and Peter Obasuyi, described their suspension as illegal, adding that they were not invited by any committee to state their own case.
“The constitution of the association was written in 2002. From then till now, we have not seen or practise anything like president of five years’ tenure. But he came on January 28 with a purported amended constitution trying to force it on us
According to Obasuyi, “when we told him (the chairman) of our grievances, he said we should send our application to the association’s Board of Trustees (BoT) where he is also the chairman for redress. But we said no because if we go to the BoT we will not get justice.
“We are pleading with the Edo State government, Oba of Benin and security agents to come to our rescue,” he said
In a swift reaction, the association’s chairman, Uhumwangho, debunked the allegations against him.
He disclosed that nine out of 150 members as claimed by the aggrieved members were suspended following their alleged misconducts against the association.
Uhumwangho maintained that prior to the coming of his administration, the association particularly with 2013 and 2018 constitution have been operating a six-year single tenure of office until-recently when it was amended to five-year single tenure.
The chairman, who added that due process was followed in the suspension of the nine members, disclosed that Mr. Osaro Aigbekaen ‘s suspension was recommended by the Board of Trustees and endorsed by no fewer than 70 members, including those of the state executive of the association after he allegedly failed to appear before the BoT of the association.
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