Lagos orders NURTW to leave motor parks

The Lagos State Government on Friday ordered members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to vacate motor parks across the state immediately.

In a joint press conference by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, Commissioner for Transport, Kayode Opeifa and the Commissioner for Information, Aderemi Ibirogba, the government also ordered road transport workers’ union to operate from their registered offices and stop to hinder operators of commercial transport in the state.

The government also banned the collection of tolls on roads and highways by touts.

Mr Opeifa told journalists that the ban was in accordance with the provisions of the new road traffic law.

He said “henceforth, union activities are no longer allowed in all the garages in the state; what they need to do now is to operate the way other unions in the state operate.

“They are meant to be in their offices; we recognise the right for them to associate but we believe that the motor parks should be made conducive to those who want to carry out their business of commuting in the state.

“No union member should be seen collecting money from transporters; it is illegal and we won’t take this any longer,” he said.

Mr Opeifa said the government would re-register motor parks in the state while unauthorised vehicles and illegal parks would not be allowed in the state’s transport system.