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Makinde Bans Oyo Road Transport Workers’ Union, NURTW
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has proscribed the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state.
The Chief of Staff to the governor, Bisi Ilaka, announced the proscription on Friday.
He said the measure was due to violence and crisis within the union.
The crisis started when a faction of the union threatened to force a change of the leadership of the union.
There had been tension in Ibadan and other major towns in the state since after the March 9 victory of Governor Seyi Makinde of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Members of a faction of the union threatened to change the NURTW leadership on the inauguration day of the new governor on Wednesday.
The police in the state said they had arrested six members of the union over violence that erupted between two factions of the union.
The two warring groups are those loyal to the chairman of the union, Abideen Olajide, and others loyal to the former acting chairman of the union, Mukaika Lamidi.
But, the state government in its bid to curb the excesses of the union, announced its proscription.
The state government in a statement on Friday said that all parks and garages had been taken over by the state government.
“While appreciating the good people Oyo State for their steadfastness overtime and support for this administration, we stand on the need to maintain peace and tranquility in the state in order to engender commercial and human development,” the Chief of Staff to the governor, Bisi Ilaka, said in a statement.
“After todays deliberation, with security and stakeholders meeting involving security chiefs and the governor, we have resolved to proscribed the NURTW in this state until further notice.”
“All activities of the union remain illegal henceforth. We urge the people of the state to go about their lawful duties without fear of molestation as combined security task force in every community of the state have been charged to control and maintained peace and order.
“Parks and garages in the state has been taken over by the Oyo State Government with immediate effect”.
Drivers unions in the state have a history of involvement in political violence in the state as different factions or unions allied with political parties or leaders.
Premium Times
President Bola Tinubu has once again pleaded with Nigerians to to endure the hardship and pains his reforms and policies have inflicted on them, promising that his administration has its hands on the plough to quickly alleviate their sufferings.
Tinubu gave the assurance on Saturday, during the 48th convocation ceremony of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, emphasising that his government would ensure that every citizen benefits, by correcting the mistakes of past administrations, promising not to engage in blame games but commit to improving the country through his economic reforms.
The president, who was represented at the event by the Special Adviser on Economy, Office of the Vice President, Tope Fasua, acknowledged that he is aware of the harsh economic situation of the country, and begged Nigerians to endure what he described as unintentional hardship, adding that he does not take pleasure in inflicting pains on Nigerians but assured there was light at the end of the tunnel as his reform policies were aimed at making Nigeria works for everyone.
“Fellow Nigerians, I am not unaware of the harsh economic situation of our country neither do I take pleasure in inflicting pains and anguish on my compatriots,” the President said in his keynote address at the convocation.
“However, we were faced with the stark reality of the results of some policies hitherto executed by past administrations but which had no direct positive impact on the generality of our people.
“Our reform policies are aimed at making Nigeria work for everyone, but the pains that come with the reform must be endured in the meantime.
“We have gladly accepted the assets and liability of our heroes’ past without any intention of apportioning blame or pointing an accusing finger at any individual or group of people.
“As we are trying to fix, reconfigure, and correct past mistakes and errors, we implore all Nigerians to cooperate with us, to endure this unintentional hardship so that; like the graduates of today, we all can celebrate and be celebrated at the end of the day. I am certainly seeing the light at the end of our tunnel.”
The Swedish Prosecution Authority announced today that the inquiry into rape allegations against French footballer Kylian Mbappé has been closed due to a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed.
This is according to multiple reports on Thursday morning.
The allegations had drawn international attention, casting a shadow over the football star’s career.
Mbappé, who had consistently denied the allegations, has yet to make an official statement regarding the decision
His legal team had previously emphasised his commitment to due process.
Mbappe was “linked to rape investigation in Sweden” and that he intended to reserve any explanations for the Swedish justice system “if necessary,” according to his lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard.
“He prioritises providing his explanations, if required, to the Swedish judiciary,” Canu-Bernard told AFP, while strongly condemning “media allegations suggesting that Kylian Mbappé had commented on the events of his trip to Stockholm.”
The case, which began earlier this year, involved accusations stemming from an alleged incident in Stockholm. The prosecutor’s decision not to press charges marks the end of months of scrutiny and speculation.
The leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has lashed back at Vice President Kashim Shettima over the latter’s reaction to her comments about Nigeria.
Badenoch was born in the UK in 1980 to Nigerian Yoruba parents.
Badenoch, who attained age 16 in Nigeria before departing the country for the UK where she was elected Conservative Party’s leader, described Nigeria as a nation brimming with thieving politicians and insecurity.
However, Shettima, while speaking at the 10th Annual Migration Dialogue at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, December 9, 2024, accused Badenoch of “denigrating her country of origin” with her remarks.
The vice-president listed influential people whose families had migrated to other countries, commending former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “brilliant young man who never denigrated his nation of ancestry.”
Reacting on Wednesday, Badenoch lashed back at Shettima, saying she doesn’t do “PR for Nigeria”.
Her spokesperson, as the Tory leader, according to UK Express, said: “Kemi is not interested in doing Nigeria’s PR; she is the Leader of the Opposition in the UK.
“She tells the truth; she tells it like it is; she isn’t going to couch her words. She stands by what she said.”
