The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Osun State Chapter, on Monday, suspended the activities of all transport unions in public motor parks across the State as the Nigeria Police Force deployed operatives to motor parks following violent clashes linked to the leadership crisis in the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
The decision came after factions of the NURTW and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), alongside civil society groups and students, staged protests across major motor parks in Osogbo over alleged insecurity. The protest was followed by reports of sporadic gunshots around the Old Garage and Ota-Efun areas of the state capital, forcing residents and commuters to flee.
Addressing a press conference in Osogbo, Lanre Balogun, ALGON Vice Chairman and Chairman of Ilesa East Local Government, said the suspension of transport unions became necessary because motor parks had become flashpoints for incessant violence and killings, allegedly arising from the leadership crisis within the NURTW.
He alleged that the crisis had been accompanied by criminal activities that now threaten commuters, transport operators and residents, adding that recent incidents, including the killing of a toddler and the shooting of an elderly man, had heightened public fear and eroded confidence in the motor park system, which remains the major means of transportation across the state.
