.Says self governance allowed in union’s constitution

By Adesina Wahab
The leadership of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in the Southwest has called on the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, to intervene in its dispute with the National President of the union, Musa Mohammed.
Briefing newsmen in Lagos, the zonal leadership also said it took the right decision to sever links with Mohammed, as the union’s constitution allows for that.
The Southwest Zonal Chair of RTEAN, Samuel Olugbenga Agbede, who briefed the press, accused the national president of misuse of power and maladministration, among others.
This, he said, led to the declaration of trade dispute as enshrined in the association’s constitution and Labour Act.
The declaration of trade dispute, he stated, grants temporary independence to the association to administer itself pending the resolution of the issues.
He called on Mohammed to step aside and that the zone had written a petition to the Minister to that effect.
According to him, a meeting was held with the National Executive Council and their grievances were conveyed to the NEC, but it didn’t give audience to their report.
The Southwest Zonal Chair urged members to remain calm, resolute and loyal to their leaders pending the determination of the issue at hand.
“We held a meeting, and we conveyed our grievances to the NEC, but when the report of the meeting got there, the NEC gave it no audience.
“Thus, the Southwest declared a trade dispute, and by implication, we are able to stand on our own and administer ourselves pending the determination of the issue that led to the trade dispute declaration.
“We wrote a petition to the Minister of Labour and Productivity, we were invited, and we made a case that Musa Mohammed should step aside because he cannot be a judge in his case.
“So if it takes 100 years, we will continue to administer ourselves because it is enshrined in our constitution and Labour Act.
“Temporary independence is granted pending the determination of the case. Until the issue is resolved, we remain independent in the Southwest.
“The case is still on the table of the Minister of Labour and Productivity, but coming to the Southwest to meddle in our affairs, despite the declaration of the trade dispute, we are acting on that very soon.”
The Southwest Secretary of RTEAN, Tiwalade Akingbade, said: “We have forwarded our letter there. We were called to a meeting around mid-March, and another meeting was rescheduled for the 31st of March, but unfortunately, we were unable to have another meeting since then.
“We were to have another meeting last week, but due to the Workers’ Day, it couldn’t hold.
“We are expected to be in Abuja again this week for another meeting. We don’t have two RTEAN camps in the Southwest. What we are doing is a collective decision of leaders in Southwest.”