Politics
Fight for the control of NURTW signals push for 2027
…as South West est leaders, govt officials disown Baruwa
With the present situation over the crisis rocking the National body of the Road Transport Workers (NURTW), all indices have proved that there may not be an end in sight in the shortest period of time, as principal actors are determined to fight on. The whole saga appears to be targeted at the 2027 general election and President Tinubu’s plot for the total control of critical interest groups in the country.
Although, the law seems to be on the side of the embattled president of the union, as the court h as backed his claim to the office, the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu, and leaders of the South west are determined to have their way by ousting him from office.
The crisis, from all indications, has even gone beyond the antagonists, Tajudeen Baruwa and Musiliu Akinsanya popularly known as MC Oluomo, the two persons laying claims to the leadership of the union.
From the findings of Business Hallmark, the whole matter has been already politicized and there is no way that the matter would not continue to drag on, as both factions are not willing to step down.
At present, the national body of the NURTW is now being administered by two parallel factions of Baruwa and Akinsaya MC Oluomo. While Baruwa is laying claim to the two court rulings of the National Industrial Court (NIC) and that of the Appeal Court, said to be in his favour as the instruments that qualifies him as the National President of the Union, Akinsaya (MC Oluomo) is banking on the support of the entire leadership of the Union in the South West and the support of President Tinubu.
These two backings give Akinsanya the impetus to hang on to power and he may continue to remain at the National secretariat of the Union in Abuja, for as long as the supports are there for him.
Although going by the two judgments, which Baruwa is parading, it could be said that he is the authentic National leader of the Union but the argument of those backing Akinsanya (Oluomo), is that he (Oluomo), was not involved in the litigations that gave Baruwa the verdicts being used to claim the leadership of the Union.
They further argued that Oluomo’s election came on a clean slate, as he was not even mentioned in all the cases and that Baruwa’s tenure had expired, as at the time he was elected.
It was also argued, that Baruwa’s issues with the union have been on since 2019 as soon as he became the President of the Union, as his leadership was said to be over bearing without any recourse to the constitution of the union and respect for the leaders and all the stakeholders, who worked for him to be the president of the union.
The allegations against him were enormous and linked to the presidential aspiration of another Yoruba man who was interested in the presidency, against the incumbent, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
The Yoruba man sources hinted was in the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with Tinubu but he eventually lost.
It was also learnt that since Baruwa’s actions became suspicious, he has been marked down and plans had been laid out on how he would not contest a second term, as the president of the Union.
Emergence of Baruwa
Baruwa emerged president, backed by leaders and stakeholders in the South West, which he used as the platform for his election. It was the initiative of the leadership of Alhaji Najeem Yasin, that for all the zones in Nigeria to have sense of belonging, it would be a good idea to rotate the presidency of the Union after him, starting from the South West and this prompted members and leaders of the Union to put Baruwa forward as “Yoruba” candidate, which according to them, was in defiance of his people from Ogun state. His people in Ogun objected his candidacy, saying, that he is not fit for the position because of his temperament and alleged arrogance.
Despite the opposition from Ogun his home base, others in the south west, backed him and he sailed through to be the president of the Union.
However, when Baruwa came into office in 2019, all the six states in the South West were with him, but it was alleged that as soon as he became the the National leader of the Union, it was his people in the zone he started victimizing.
It was further alleged that before they knew what was happening, crisis were erupting everywhere in the South West of the union and that was why they started suspecting him because virtually all the state governments in the South West, proscribed the Union.
Findings, however indicated that he allegedly created crisis in the zone, for political reasons, so as to destabilized the existing structures he met and plant his own, for the support of his preferred presidential candidate, not Tinubu.
His action led to the dismissal of Union leaders in the region, which included Oluomo in Lagos and that of Osun, Ogun, Ekiti, and Ondo. He was also alleged of creating two chairmanship of units, which further deepened the trouble in the Union.
It was further alleged that the crisis, which erupted in the Union while Baruwa was there, led to the creation of park Managers, which rendered the activities of the union meaningless and members jobless.
“If not for the wisdom of some of us that came together including Oluomo that save the Union in the South West, Baruwa had already ruined it,” one of the leaders said.
One of the Elders and two term treasurer of the Union Alhaji Nosiru Komolafe, who spoke on the crisis, agreed that the leadership of the Union under Baruwa fuelled the crisis rocking the general body of the Union.
Coup against Baruwa
It was argued that because of the attitude of Baruwa to the people in his constituency, the South west, of the union, backed out and failed to endorse him for a second term and plotted his exit.
The former President of the Union Alhaji Yasin, who himself was not happy with Baruwa, was said to have played a prominent role in his exit as he was instrumental to the formation of a caretaker committee, led by Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede who was Baruwa’s vice, to eventually emerged as the head of the committee.
Without wasting time, Agbede, who is a close friend of Oluomo and also keen too, to occupy the presidency of the union, announced the dissolution of the Baruwa led Exco, with the excuse that their tenure had expired.
This led to a serious tension in the union and as a result Baruwa’s team held an election and he was re-elected, for a second term but this was countered by another delegate conference in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
A prominent member of the Union told Business Hallmark that the Union was already in deep crisis and in serious situation before the emergence of Musiliu Akinsanya (Oluomo) as the present, controversial National President of the Union.
Narrating how Oluomo emerged as the President of the Union, the Ekiti State chairman of the Union, Chief Joseph Falope, who said he represented all the chairmen of the Union in the South West, said that the Court judgments, which Baruwa is talking about, has nothing to do with MC Oluomo as he was not a party to the case involved.
According to Falope, “There was no Union again but park garages system, rendering Union members jobless. It was MC Oluomo along with some of us that put the Unnion back on track in the South West, of Osun, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo Ekiti and Oyo.”
“When we saw that the region, which Baruwa had scattered became intact, and Baruwa was already expelled from the Union by the National Executive Council (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC), zonal delegate conference was held at Osogbo in Osun State and because it is still the turn of the zone to go for the Presidency of the Union, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya Oluomo, was unanimously endorsed by members of the zone to contest.”
On the election of Akinsanya Oluomo, the coordinator of the Elders forum of the Union in the South West, Alhaji Moshood Ajao said the court rulings are not binding on him because he was not a party to any litigation or crisis of leadership within the NURTW.
Also talking in favour of Akinsanya Oluomo, Alhaji Nosiru Komolafe said Baruwa’s pursuit of NURTW presidency has created serious crisis in the Union and that his leadership destroyed the Union and put it in a mess all over the country.
According to him, “the union never had it so bad in its 46 years as we had during the tenure of Baruwa, who eroded the legacies of Alhaji Oseni and Alhaji Yasin”
Alhaji komolafe condemned the attitude of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) chairman, Joe Ajero, on the NURTW matter, saying, he was partial in the crisis.
Meanwhile, Human Rights lawyer Chief Femi Falana (SAN) has condemned the inauguration of Akinsanya as the President of the Union, despite the court orders asking Baruwa to be reinstated. He called on the the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and the Inspector General of Police Dr. Kayode Egbetokun to enforce the ruling of both the NIC and the Appeal Court in favour of Baruwa.
Also, Baruwa’s counsel, Mr. Tolu Babaleye has said that the inauguration of Akinsanya was illegal without any recourse to the two court verdicts.
He pointed out that Akinsanya’s emergence, as a factional president of the Union, is against the constitution of the union, that stipulates tenure of leadership. He said “a faction just sat in a place to pick Akinsaya, Oluomo, disregarding the Union’s constitution.”
Meanwhile, Baruwa himself has spoken in an interview he granted one of the National dailies that all he wanted is justice and alleged that Akinsanya Oluomo is being backed by some top government official at the federal level.
He argued that the beauty of the matter is that he went to court and got Justice and all he wanted is for those concerned to obey the court order and get him reinstated.
As for his removal he cleared the air that he was not removed but forced to leave the premises of the Union’s secretariat, when some thugs fully armed invaded the place and since he is a man of peace he had to informed his followers not to respond to give peace a chance.
He argued that Oluomo is an illegal occupant of the position, saying that he is not a member of the Union. neither is he entitled to contest the leadership, since he was not even a zonal chairman.
He, however, appealed to the authorities to ensure that justice prevail since no one is above the law. He also said that his tenure has not yet expired, as he was only elected for a second term in May 2024.
In another development that makes the crisis look more clumsy and which could prolong it is the latest division among the ranks of top members and board of Trustees of the Union.
It appears that even in the South West here the leader of the Union in Oyo State Alhaji Abideen Olajide aka Ejiogbe is in support of Baruwa as the only authentic leader of the Union while he accused the the former President of the Union Yasin of trying to destabilise the Union arguing that he, Yasin is the mastermind of all the crisis in the Union.
He described the emergence of Oluomo as illegal and wants the government to call him to order and ensure that the verdicts of the courts, especially the latest by the Appeal Court, is obeyed.
Also, another leader, who is the South West zonal chairman of the Union, Olalekan Folorunso just like the Oyo chairman, is solidly behind Baruwa claiming that Oluomo has ceased to be member of the Union since 2022, when he destroyed his membership card, after he was queried by the leadership of the Union.
A public affairs analyst and former Chief Press Secretary to Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, former governor of Oyo State, Elder Moses Olorore who spoke with the Business Hallmark on the issue, said that though the court orders on the matter are very clear, he believed that the battle that Baruwa is facing is more than what the judicial pronouncements could resolve because it is glaring and very clear too, that Baruwa is fighting the people and even if he is reinstated, he would continue to face problems, especially in the South West, which is his major constituency.
Elder Olorode argued that for the mere fact that Baruwa is no longer popular in his base under the platform that he used in the first place to emerged as National President of the Union, he has tactically lost the leadership, despite the court verdicts, because he could be reinstated and after, vote of no confidence could be engineered against him and he would at last be kicked out of the office.
Also former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ) Mr. Lanre Ogundipe in a telephone chat with Business hallmark said, “yes court judgment is binding but the verdicts of the people matter most because even if the court forced him back, the people have spoken and I doubt if he is going to find it easy”.
Mr. Ogundipe said, the people would continue to gang up against him and since it is glaring that the whole matter has been infected with political undertone, he won’t be able to concentrate and if he decides to use force, there will be crisis and uprising, especially, in all the places, where they have demonstrated that they don’t want him, because he used the platform of the zone to get elected.
“I think he should just bow out honorably and accept that he has lost at home. All the leaders and stakeholders from the look of things and their comments are no longer with him and there is no way he could run the affairs of the Union smoothly anymore.”
Sources, however, hinted Business Hallmark that the legal teams of Baruwa are already planning to visit the court again for the enforcement of the court verdict, since Oluomo has refused to vacate the National Secretariat of the Union in Abuja.