There was a strong feeling of fear in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, on Monday as members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers and the Ogun State Parks and Garages Management Board fought over who should be in charge.
Several motor parks where fights were reported include Kuto, Lafenwa, Brewery, Ita Oshin, and Obantoko, among others.
During the fight, there were reports of gunshots and union members were said to have attacked each other with machetes.
According to a source, the disagreement stemmed from an alleged attempt by the recently reinstated NURTW leadership under Alhaji Ismail Adewale, also known as Yaro, to take over the collection of this week’s revenue from motor parks, which is supposed to be done by OGSPAM.
The source said, “The fight is about leadership; it is about who is in charge of collecting the union’s tickets for the government.”
It was found out that NURTW, OGSPAM, and RTEAN were responsible for collecting revenue for the state government.
OGSPAM was created by the state government after NURTW activity was halted in 2021.
A prominent leader of NURTW, Akeem Abodunrin, also known as Iyeru, was made the chairman of OGSPAM to sell union tickets for the government when NURTW was not active.
However, in October 2023, the ban was reportedly lifted, and NURTW was reinstated under the leadership of Ismail Adewale, popularly called Yaro.
It was also revealed that in early March, the Commissioner for Transportation, Gbenga Dairo, instructed both NURTW and OGSPAM to take turns in selling the government tickets in order to promote peace between the unions.
Under this arrangement, RTEAN will sell tickets for two weeks while NURTW and OGSPAM will sell tickets for one week, respectively.
Sources in the union, however, told our correspondent that trouble began to escalate when the commissioner instructed the leadership of OGSPAM to step down while NURTW takes over the week that should belong to OGSPAM.
Our correspondent, who visited Panseke, Kuto, Lafenwa, and Brewery motor parks in Abeokuta, saw heavily armed policemen positioned at key locations in the parks to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
Efforts to reach the transport commissioner for comments on this incident were unsuccessful, as he did not answer the calls or respond to the inquiry sent to him on WhatsApp.
Discussing the situation, the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, confirmed it, and added that the situation has been brought under control.
He said, “The security agents and the government have intervened in the situation, the police are out there to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order.
” In fact, I am just leaving a meeting held with the government over the matter, so everything is fine and let me also add that nobody was killed too in the incident.”
