Transport Workers Suspend Officials Over Leadership Crisis

Tension is brewing within the ranks of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Nasarawa State as its executive has moved against officials suspected to have meddled in the current national leadership crisis in the union.

Crisis had emerged at the national headquarters of the union with both Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo and Tajudeen Baruwa laying claim to the leadership.

The development, our correspondent gathered, has polarised the union into camps across states.

The former Nasarawa State chairman, Alhaji Salihu Adamu who is currently the North Central zonal leader, accused Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Maikwariya, the state chairman of the union of witch-hunting local government officials perceived to be loyal to Baruwa’s camp.

Speaking to journalists, Adamu alleged that more than 100 local government officials and members of the union in Karu, Nasarawa State had been suspended by the state executive over the development.

According to him, the action of the state executive is fueling discontent within the ranks across the 13 local government areas of the state.

In a reaction however, the state secretary of the union, Comrade Idris Adamu, said there was no camp within the state body.

He noted that the national leadership crisis was purely a South West affair since the president slot was zoned to the area, stressing that executives in other states outside the zone were not supposed to meddle in the affair.

Comrade Adamu explained that six Karu LGA officials were suspended for participating in the vandalism of the national secretariat under the guise of implementing a court judgments on the matter.

He gave the names of the officials to include chairman, Town Service Branch, Mararaba; chairman, NURTW Mini Bus, Mararaba Branch One; chairman, NURTW Mararaba, Branch Two; treasurer, NURTW Mararaba Branch Three; chairman NURTW Uke Branch; and branch Secretary, NURTW Mararaba Branch Six.

He said the affected officials who are not even part of the state executive, have no business whatsoever with the happenings at the secretariat, adding that the state executive was shocked by the development.

Explaining further, he said the affected LGA officials were invited to Lafia to explain why they took part in the anomaly, but failed to honour the invitation.

“We therefore have to suspend them in order to make room for an investigation to ascertain their involvement and individual roles in the saga,” he explained.