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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.
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The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
