Following a threat of showdown by the Southwest leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Oyo State over ban of the union activities, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state on Wednesday said they lack the right information and understanding to comment on happening in the state.
This is as the government urged the leadership to as a matter of genuine love for the Oyo state chapter of the union intervene and ensure all internal crisis that led to the proscription by the government are amicably resolved.
The Nation quoted Makinde as speaking exclusively through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Taiwo Adisa on the heels of a seven day ultimatum recently given the government to revert the proscription placed on the union in the state.
The Southwest leaders had warned Makinde to revert the appointment of a former factional leader, Mr Mukaila Lamidi, popularly known as auxiliary as the Chairman, Disciplinary Committee for the parks, adding that the union would begin a strike action if the government fail to comply with their demands within seven days.
But reacting, Makinde said Auxiliary, as well as other individuals appointed to serve in the newly introduced Park Management System got the appointment based on their individual merit and not as members of the proscribed NURTW.
He added that the new regime does not stop any individual in transport business from plying its trade in any of the parks owned by the local government in trust for the state government but saying the new system on ground is nothing NURTW system by Park Management System.
Stressing that Auxiliary appointment has nothing to do with the daily running and management of the parks across the state, Adisa said the government is aware that some individuals “are pushing some elements to want to cause crisis in Oyo state by whatever means. They should go and learn how to abide by the law because anybody who attempt to put Oyo state into crisis whether the long or short arm of the law will catch up with the person.”
Adisa said that “The simple thing to say is that, the commentators from the NURTW side, they got the story wrong and interpreting it wrongly. They are saying that the State Government has appointed one of their own, their former union member as Park Manager that is the person of Mr Lamidi Mukaila, aka Auxiliary, but that is not true, there is nothing like that.
“Mr Mukaila Lamidi, Auxilliary has not been appointed as a park manger in any way. He is not a Park Manager, but the Chairman of the disciplinary Committee.
“The job of the Disciplinary Committee is straight forward. If there is any controversy between or among the stakeholders, that is the Park managers and the state government or the Park Managers and the Ministry of Works, or the Park managers and the consultants, the consultants are the direct supervisors of the Park Managers.
“The commissioner for Works is also a direct supervisor of the park mangers. The Disciplinary Committee is just standing on its own and when there are issues for disciplinary actions between or among the stakeholders. So, where there is no issue that calls for disciplinary actions, the Disciplinary Committee will just be standing on its own.
“The Disciplinary Committee is not involved in the day to day running of any park, so, there is no issues about the appointment of Mr Lamidi as a Park Manager, he is not a park Manager by any means and so they should not confuse the two things. That is just by the way.”
On the issue of ultimatum to government, he said “The ultimatum is no issue because Oyo state has no business with any ultimatum. Those people that spoke, are they stakeholders in Oyo state? Are they stakeholders in the running of affairs in Oyo state? If they have any issues with their own states they should take such to their Governors and the Governors of their various states. As far as we are concerned in Oyo state, NURTW is suspended in Oyo state.
“If they can help the NURTW in Oyo state to resolve their internal crisis, if they like them so much they should help them resolve it. And when the internal crisis is resolved, the state government led by Engr Seyi Makinde said that as soon as they resolved their internal crisis, he will lift the ban on them, but they have not produced a way forward for the resolution of the crisis.
“If they produce a way forward for the resolution of the crisis within the NURTW in Oyo state, then the governor is ready to lift the ban, so what they should be doing is to help the NURTW in Oyo state out of its internal crisis rather than jumping at something they don’t know about.
“There is no faction matter in this issue. What is on ground is that NURTW does not run the motor parks in Oyo state, and the system that has been put in place is Park Management System, it is not called NURTW system. And the person that is put there as member of the system is not put there because of his membership of NURTW. He was put there because of his own person, his own name. He entered there in his own merit. None of the people that have been so selected were selected because of their membership of NURTW.
“They were selected in their own merit and so we are not running an NURTW system, we are running Park Management System and everybody knows that the motor parks are owned by the local government in trust for the state. And so, nobody is saying NURTW members who have their vehicles cannot go and pick their passengers at the parks.
“Nobody is saying, don’t make money from your business from the parks, but we are saying go to the parks, cooperate with the park managers, pay whatever bill they give you and do your business peacefully.”
