NURTW vs RTEAN: Amusan, Oluomo explain Obalende fracas

Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) have disagreed over Thursday’s violence at Obalende in Lagos.

A free-for-all over control of the garage caused tension in the area for hours until the police restored normalcy.

RTEAN Publicity Secretary, Abdulrahman Amusan, urged the state government to intervene in the matter.

Amusan told NAN that his union was known for peace and had operated in Obalende for many years without any problem.

He said trouble started when NURTW members attempted to dislodge RTEAN counterparts from their area of operations.

Amusan recalled that his association maintained their ground which resulted in the fight.

“We have been working at Obalende for long. All of a sudden, on Monday, members of the NURTW encroached into the area of operations of RTEAN.

“This morning when they came, they met with resistance from our members, and that led to the fracas”, the spokesman said.

In his reaction, state NURTW Chairman, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, absolved his union of blame.

He claimed that the fight occurred because members of RTEAN attacked NURTW members in a bid to take over the motor park.

The Police has invited leaders of the quarreling parties for a meeting. CP Hakeem Odumosu also warned against further aggressive confrontation.