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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Trade Union Congress (TUC), has directed it affiliates to begin mobilisation for a massive protest in Lagos on Monday, in response to the state’s government’s reluctance to reinstitute the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
The Congress has also said it would direct its members across the state to withdraw their services if the issue is not resolved after the protest.
The governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, issued an executive order in September 2022, suspending RTEAN operations throughout the state.
The governor said incidents of violence in Ojo and Lagos Island necessitated the suspension.
The state government further established a 35-person ad-hoc committee, headed by Sulaiman Raji, to take over the union.
However, in October, after the union file a suit against the Lagos government at the National Industrial court, a judgement was issued ordering the reinstatement of the RTEAN in the state.
But TUC President, Festus Osifo, at a press conference Friday in Abuja, said that the Lagos State Government had refused to reinstate RTEAN despite the decision of the court.
He said several attempts by the Congress to get the state governor to honour the decision of the court had proved abortive.
Osifo said: “On the 22nd day of May, this year, we wrote to Lagos State government drawing their attention to the pronouncement of the court but unfortunately, they did not yield to this.
“So, on the second week of June, we had a protest in Lagos after the protest, they called us and we had a meeting with the Permanent Secretaries in the various ministries that were affected
“We thought we were already finding solutions to this problem because they told us that they were going to pass our message to the Governor, and they promised us that these issues would be resolved.
“So, in order for us to carry out a successful protest in Lagos on Monday, next week, we have informed the DG of DSS, the IGP, and we have also informed the National Security Advisor.”
