RTEAN Ban: Your Proposed Protest Is Needless – Lagos Govt Slams TUC

The Lagos State Government has said the planned protest by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) scheduled for Monday in the state is needless and unnecessary.

Recall that the TUC, over the weekend, announced a one-day protest over the Lagos government’s ban on the operation of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in the state.

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, TUC National President, Festus Osifo, said the union had employed all the necessary tools of engagement for amicable resolution, including writing letters and holding meetings with the Lagos government on the issue.

The TUC boss said the RTEAN also went to court and got a judgment from the National Industrial Court, which said the state government had no powers to proscribe a trade union legally registered by the Federal Government.

But in a statement on Sunday, the Lagos Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said the TUC wants to use the planned protest to “arm-twist and intimidate the government.”

Omotosho stated that the government has appealed against the judgment and has a pending application for a stay of execution of the said judgment.

The commissioner, therefore, called on the TUC and RTEAN to embrace dialogue.

The statement reads: “Therefore, the protest will be in breach of the Rule of Law, which expects both parties to maintain the status quo, pending the determination of the application for a stay of execution and appeal.

“The planned protest is of no need and is meant to arm-twist and intimidate the government, considering all the efforts being made to resolve the matter amicably. 

“TUC/RTEAN should embrace dialogue. It is better and safer for our economic and social well-being.”

How The Tussle Began

In September 2022, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos ordered the suspension of the transport association, citing violence in parts of the state as the reason for the suspension. 

In April 2023, a National Industrial Court in Lagos ordered the reinstatement of the transport association, saying that the ban was illegal.