Date: 2019-11-19

Members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Kwara state have appealed to the national leadership of the union to jettison alleged plan to impose executive members on the state chapter of the union.

Speaking during the inauguration of new state executive council of the union in Ilorin on Monday, stakeholders of the transport union from various branches in the state, unanimously rejected plan to constitute a caretaker committee for the state chapter of the union.

The members of the NURTW, who included motorcycle and tricycle operators, said that they all unanimously approved emergence of Alhaji Abdulrazaq Ariwoola as new state chairman, added that elections that brought him into office were constitutional.

According to one of the stakeholders, who is also an immediate past vice chairman in the state, Alhaji Ahmed Babatunde, said that there was no crisis nor attacks from any aggrieved member in the contest to call for an idea of the caretaker committee.

Also speaking, Alhaji Babatunde Ologele from Sawmill branch, Ilorin called on the national leadership of the union under Professor Ibikunle Baruwa to allow peace to reign, saying that, "our house is in order, and we don’t need any caretaker committee. Alhaji Ariwo was our choice from day one and fortunately for him, he was also the winner of the mini election conducted in the presence of the representatives of the state government and stakeholders of the union when they were called for mediation. We want Alhaji Ariwo to resume in the interest of fairness and justice".

In his speech, the new state chairman, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Ariwo, appealed to the national chairman, Alhaji Baruwa to allow peace reign in the state by supporting the interest of the majority in the state, promising to carry every member along in his administration.

He appealed to the national leadership to listen to the voice of the people and akin to their choice, saying that Kwara state branch had not witnessed crisis and violence in the existence of the union.

"It should not start now. We won't want the closure of our union by the government in the state as it happened in some neighbouring states. We are one family in the state. We don't fight. So, we hereby call on aggrieved members to be sportsmanly. We don't want a caretaker committee. We have leadership already".