TUC calls for one-day protest in Lagos over ban on RTEAN

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has announced a one-day protest in Lagos over the state government’s ban on the operation of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).

According to Festus Osifo, the president of TUC, the protest will be held on September 25.

In September 2022, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, ordered the suspension of the transport association, citing violence in parts of the state as the reason for the suspension. 

But in April 2023, a national industrial court in Lagos ordered the reinstatement of the transport association.

Maureen Esowe, the presiding judge, had said the suspension of the union’s activities by the government was illegal and restrained the state from interfering with the operations of the union’s executives.

However, the state government filed an appeal to challenge the judgment of the industrial court.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos on Friday, the TUC president said the failure of the Lagos governor to obey the court order necessitated a protest in the state.

He added that “if there is no solution in sight then there is going to be a total shutdown in Lagos”.

“We have contacted them to call the governor to order. Just as we often say, injury to one is an injury to all,” Osifo said.

“What they did to RTEAN a while ago, they are also doing the same thing to NURTW. It has spread beyond RTEAN that they are even gunning for the nation NURTW.

“For us, this is fundamentally wrong. It is against this backdrop that on September 4, we said if the Lagos government did not resolve this issue, that we were going to come after them. That we are going to carry out a protest in Lagos once again.

“So in order for us to carry out a successful protest on Monday, we informed the DG of DSS, IGP, and the national security adviser.

“The reason is that we want them to provide us with adequate security. And we have also informed all our affiliates to proceed to Lagos next week.”