By Ayodele Abere
Members of the Road Transport Workers’ Union in Ekiti State have been advised to desist from being used as tools by politicians to foment trouble as campaigns for the Ekiti gubernatorial elections progress.
A former Chairman of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria in the State, Barrister Olubgenga Agbede, who gave the advice in an interview in Ado-Ekiti, as he explained that, a good number of them are mature graduates who are qualified to contest for any political position said they shouldn’t allow themselves to be manipulated by politicians to achieve their selfish goals.
Barrister Agbede, who has been one of the executive officers at the zonal level of the association, said the admonition became necessary because experiences have shown that it is this period that all sorts of allegations are levelled against road transport workers as cannon fodders to mar the electoral process.
On the roles of the two unions, the National Union of Road Transport Workers,NURTW, and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, the union leader described it as complementary, since they are basically transporters. He remarked that apart from some past skirmishes between them, cordial relationship is what now binds the two unions.
“I have been at the zonal level since 2018. When I was at the helm of affairs in Ekiti State, there was cordial relationship between the unions. And I believe it is still so, because there has not been friction or fracas between them. They have been living in harmony”.
Speaking on why some motorable roads in the State capital such as the bank/secretariat road, new Iyin road, NTA road and others, are not plied by the taxis, he described them as residential areas that are just turning to commercial locations, while the new Iyin road has just been opened. “Because where taxis cannot go and come back at a little stretch distance, we find it difficult plying that place, and you know most of those areas are residential. So, when people move out in the morning, they come back in the evening, So there might not be enough business. But if the area is highly commercial, taxis will ply there. But since the new Iyin road has opened, within a short while things will change”.
“Even the State Secretariat is along that place too. Whenever I have opportunity to meet them at the state level, I will raise it. I will encourage them to ensure they ply the new secretariat road in ado. But there are other areas that cannot be plied now such as the road to the new Ado Local Government Secretariat, because the road is too bad. It’s only okada that can ply the road. Taxis will not be encouraged to go there because spare parts are too expensive now”.
The English graduate at the former Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti, now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, who later read law, and recently crowned it with masters in law, remarked:
“When I was there, I used to organize seminars, for people to talk to our people, to raise their standard because they can be easily used by politicians if they fail to redefine themselves. Let them step up their educational qualifications, they can even vie for any positions. I am a politician, but I don’t encourage our members being used for undemocratic purposes. I am a lawyer/politician, and I have been involved in transport business since 1979 at a very tender age.
