Members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) are not political thugs contrary to insinuations in some quarters, Kwara State chairman of the union, Alhaji Aliyu Issa Ore, has said.

He said his members have never allowed themselves to be used as thugs during elections and would continue to preserve the dignity of the union.

Ore, who spoke during a meeting of security agencies with representatives of political parties and other stakeholders in the state, said no member of his union has ever been arrested over election-related offences.

Besides, he said members of the union have been warned against participating in politics in order not to bring the NURTW into disrepute.

"A lot of people erroneously see NURTW as an association of thugs. I want to restate here that our members are not thugs. As chairman of the union, I was a political observer in the 2007 election. I would not have been appointed as an observer if the NURTW is an organisation of thugs", he said.

He urged members of the union to be careful in their dealings with politicians.