Keke Riders Cry Out, ‘Save Us From Oppression Of NURTW’

Tricycle riders in Oyo, popularly called Keke NAPEP, have cried out to the government of the state to save them from the oppression of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

Protesting in Ojoo, Ibadan, under the aegis of Tricycle Owners Association, the riders accused the NURTW and the Akinyele South Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of illegally forcing them out of the park they were allotted by the state government.

Advertisement

Comrade Yusuf Muritala, who spoke on behalf of the group, told newsmen in Ibadan that its members have abandoned their tricycles ever since they received orders from the LCDA to vacate the park.

“Our organization is duly registered and the space which we are using as park was allotted to us by the local government last year only for us to get to this our park yesterday and received instruction that we should vacate the place. The Divisional Police officer in Ojoo came to our park and said we should leave immediately and ever since then, we have abandoned our tricycles,” said Muritala.

“We were at the Area Command and they told us that the land has been given to NURTW. This is oppression. They have their park and we have our own, other traders are there, we are doing our business without any problem, so why do they want us to leave?” he said.

On its part, the local council development said the decision to hand the park to the NURTW was to let peace reign in the Ojoo area.

Advertisement

“They were asked to vacate the place in the interest of peace. We realize that the unions occasionally have crisis among one another other and in order to forestall breakdown of law and order, we decided that they leave,” said Yakuub Alli, Chairman of the Caretaker Committee in Akinyele South LCDA.

“There are about 10 parks in that place, and we have told them to go and look for another place and we will approve it for them,” he said.

Leave a comment

Advertisement