The leadership crisis within the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has taken another turn, with divisions arising among members of the National Board of Trustees regarding the election of Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, as the union’s president.
A National Trustee of the NURTW, Alhaji Abideen Olajide, popularly called Ejiogbe, has alleged that the former President of the Union, Alhaji Najimu Yasin, is the mastermind behind the leadership crisis that has plagued the union since 2023.
Olajide, who also serves as the Oyo State Chairman of the NURTW, accused Yasin of undermining the union that once elevated him, providing him with a livelihood and leadership roles as president and later Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT).
He asserted that Alhaji Ibikunle Tajudeen Baruwa remains the legitimate President of the union, having won re-election for a second four-year term.
“Alhaji Baruwa won the election and has also repeatedly prevailed in lawsuits instituted against him by those I call the enemies of the union’s progress,” Olajide stated.
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According to Olajide, “As per the union’s constitution, Alhaji Najimudeen Yasin completed the remaining two years of Gidado’s regime and then served two four-year terms, making a total of ten years as president. Yet, he remains unsatisfied and is determined to undermine his successor, Alhaji Baruwa, from enjoying his rightful terms as stipulated by the NURTW constitution.”
He further alleged that Yasin’s resistance is linked to the BoT chairmanship, explaining that once Baruwa completes his two terms as president, he would naturally succeed as BoT Chairman, displacing Yasin.
Olajide added, “When Baruwa was sworn in for his second term in August 2023 during a grand inauguration in Nasarawa State, his opponent, Agbede, went to court but lost decisively.”
He criticized the purported election of MC Oluomo as union president during a meeting organized by retired union leaders in Osogbo, describing it as contrary to the union’s rules and procedures.
“MC Oluomo has no legal basis to claim the presidency of our union. The election held on May 24, 2023, remains valid, as upheld by courts of higher jurisdiction, including the National Industrial Court,” Olajide emphasized.
He also alleged that Yasin used his son, Teslim Usman Yasin, the Secretary of the Lagos chapter, to send invitations to the Osogbo meeting where MC Oluomo was declared president.
Olajide called on the Federal Government and security agencies to uphold the judiciary’s rulings and allow Baruwa to function as the union’s president. He described MC Oluomo as an “impostor” who is no longer a member of the NURTW but a member of the Lagos State Parks and Garages Management Committee.
In a related development, human rights lawyer Mr. Femi Falana, in a statement, urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, and the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun, to restore Comrade Baruwa as the national president of the NURTW without further delay.
