THE Lagos government has urged the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to cancel their planned protest in the state today, calling it “needless” and “unnecessary.”
The TUC in a statement issued on Friday by its President, Festus Osifo announced a one-day demonstration in Lagos today in response to the government’s ban on the functioning of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN)
Osifo’s protest was based on the governor’s failure to comply with an existing court ruling that reestablished RTEAN activities in the state.
The TUC’s appeal follows Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s September 2022 suspension of the RTEAN as a result of violence in sections of the state by members of the union and the Lagos State Parks and Garages Administrators (LASPGA).
A national industrial court in Lagos had ordered the transport association’s restoration in April 2023.
The presiding judge, Maureen Esowe, had decided that the government’s suspension of the union’s activities was illegal and barred the state from interfering with the union’s executives’ operations.
Osifo, who spoke to journalists in Lagos, bemoaned the LASPGA’s move to seal the RTEAN offices across the state and vowed to go on strike if the state government failed to unlock the offices.
The government, however, stated in a statement issued last night by the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, that the scheduled protest was unnecessary since the government had appealed the ruling and “has a pending application for a stay of execution of the said judgment.”
The TUC, according to Omotoso, is using the protest threat to “arm-twist and intimidate the government.”
He maintained that the protest would violate the rule of law, which requires both parties to maintain the status quo pending the outcome of the application for a stay of execution and appeal.
“The planned protest is of no need and is meant to arm-twist and intimidate the government, considering all the efforts being made to resolve the matter amicably.
“TUC/RTEAN should embrace dialogue. It is better and safer for our economic and social well-being,” Omotoso warned.
