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Members of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are considering the possibility of initiating an indefinite industrial action in Lagos State. This potential action is in response to the ongoing suspension of activities involving one of its affiliates, the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
The President of the TUC, Festus Osifo, addressed journalists in Abuja, stating that the union is set to initiate a mass protest in the state on Monday.
Osifo pointed out that the Lagos state government had effectively banned RTEAN (Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria) in the state, resulting in the takeover of motor parks and the closure of their office.
The union leader alleged that despite numerous letters sent to the state government, no action has been taken to address the concerns raised, stemming from a court decision in 2022 that overturned the state government’s suspension order, leading to a deadly clash among its members.
He declared, “We are planning to conduct another protest in Lagos this coming Monday. If no viable solution is reached following this protest, we will proceed with a complete shutdown of Lagos state because, to us, this situation is unequivocally unacceptable.”
Osifo lamented the breakdown of mechanisms designed for peaceful conflict resolution, emphasizing that the TUC had exhausted all appropriate channels of communication, including written correspondence and face-to-face meetings with the Lagos State government.
“As a responsible and law-abiding organization, we instructed our affiliate to pursue legal action. Consequently, they filed a case with the national industrial court, and on April 28, 2023, a verdict was delivered. This judgment explicitly directed the reopening of their offices and underscored that the Lagos State government lacked the authority to proscribe any union.
Regrettably, the court’s ruling went unheeded, prompting our subsequent attempt to engage the Lagos State government to enforce the court’s decision. Unfortunately, our efforts in this regard did not yield the desired outcome,” lamented Osifo.
He emphasized that for their planned protest in Lagos on Monday to be successful, they have duly notified the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS), the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the National Security Adviser (NSA) to ensure the provision of sufficient security measures.
