RTEAN won’t agree to alleged extortions of members by LASG, says President

The leadership of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) on Monday insisted that it would not agree with the alleged extortions of its members by the Lagos State government through its constituted Caretaker Committee for the association.

RTEAN’s Executive National President, Alhaji Musa Mohammed, who told newsmen in Lagos yesterday that its members would not pay any levy to the caretaker committee, described the committee’s activities as “illegal”.

Recall that the state government on September 29 suspended all activities of RTEAN and dissolved the union’s elected executive members in the state following some pockets of violence recorded in Ojo and Lagos Island the same day.

It would be recalled also that the leadership of RTEAN earlier before the ban had announced the suspension of one of its Lagos State Vice-Chairmen, Mr Oluwaseyi Bamgbose, popularly known as ‘Student’ for allegedly instigating unrest in the association.

Bamgbose was organising protests demanding the removal of RTEAN’s State Chairman, Alhaji Musa Mohammed, who also doubles as the association’s National President.

Consequently, Mr Sola Giwa, the Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, announced the constitution of a 35-man Caretaker Committee to take over the activities of the union. Heading the committee is Alhaji Sulaiman Raji, the Oniba of Iba Kingdom, while Bamgbose was chosen as Deputy Chairman.

Already, the union has instituted a case before the National Industrial Court, Lagos, challenging what it described as “illegal or unlawful action of the Lagos State Government”.

Mohammed said that members had been compelled to buy union’s tickets despite the suspension of operations.

He said: “They (the committee) have hijacked our operations because it is the same thing that we are doing that the committee the government set up is doing too.

“The government said they have suspended our operations in the state and our operation is for us to sell our tickets. Now that the government has asked the committee to print tickets and that is the ticket they are selling now to our members.

“Immediately after our last press release was out, the committee called another meeting to dissolve our constituted zones and chapels because those zones and chapels could not collect the N5 million and N400,000 they initially proposed to them collect respectively.

“The association has about 350 chapels and 50 zones. Asking all the 350 chapels and 50 zones to bring money to the chairman of the caretaker committee directly just because the collection of N5m and N400,000 did not work. This cannot work.”

The president urged all members not to take any union money to the Oba or the state government because it was not their right.

He added: “If it is tax, we will know it is tax. This one that the government say they have suspended us and now put an Oba, kabiyesi, Seriki or Area Boy or whatever to head a committee to collect money for the state government or himself, we will not agree.

“We are calling the attention of the state government and security agencies to know that there is extortion of our members.

“Already we are aware that our operations have been suspended by the Lagos State government and we have gone to court because we are labour workers working directly under Federal Government and state government cannot stop us.”

Decrying the suspension, Mohammed said that as a trade union, if the association had to be suspended, it should be the federal government, “if we have committed any offence, the state government can be called to constitute a committee to look into the matter.”

Mohammed explained that based on the outcome of such a report by the state-constituted committee, the Federal Government can then take action through the state government.

He added: ” I, as the National President of the Association, l will not take it lightly from them.

“I will write to the security agencies to look into the matter if it is constitutional and the public to know what we are going through,” he said.