Members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Southwest have warned the outgoing President of the union, Alhaji Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa to desist from causing divisions among members of the union from various zonal councils of the country.
The chairman of the elders forum, Pa Samuel Jonah stated this while reacting to a sponsored solidarity visit by some retirees of the union from three northern zones (North-west, North-east and North-central).
While speaking at the event, Baruwa who was represented at the meeting by his Special Assistant on Labour and Industrial Relations, Comrade Abdul Bogs, boasted that the five zonal councils will go ahead and impose Baruwa on the union without the southwest involvement.
“We members of the union in the southwest reject this position. It is a sign of arrogance on the part of Baruwa and his backers to have uttered that statement. Southwest is part of Nigeria and no one can write the history of the union without making strong reference to southwest. NURTW was formed in Southwest before spreading to other zones, so, it will be unreasonable for anyone to think of removing the southwest from the union. It is impossible.
“Again, we would like to remind him that when it was turn of the southwest to produce a candidate for NURTW presidency, we all supported and endorsed him in 2019 to represent us at the National level. As at that time, all the six state councils in the zone were functioning and operating, but as at today all the state councils in southwest have been taken over by various state governments due to uncooperative and arrogant attitude of Baruwa “As at today, thousands of our men in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti are jobless and suffering due to the selfish interest of one man (Baruwa)”
Pa Jonah appealed to all leaders and members of the union in the other five zones of the country to cooperate with Southwest to rescue the union from the grip of Baruwa.
He assured them that all the state councils in the region will return back to NURTW fold if Baruwa is removed today “we have endorsed Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede as our candidate to represent our interest. Please join to install Agbede as our next president from Southwest.”
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then