Scores of members of Tricycle Owners Association operating in Ojoo area of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest against what they termed as “intimidation” by their sister union, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and management of Akinyele South Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
The protesters who carried various placards with various inscriptions such as, “Save us from oppression of NURTW”, ” and many others, protested through Ojoo motor park to the Agodi government secretariat where they spoke with representatives of the State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
Spokesperson of the tricyclists, Comrade Yusuf Muritala who spoke with journalists during the protest said, ‘We are using this protest to express our grievances against the oppression of the government and NURTW and at the same time fight for our right.’
“Our organization is duly registered and the space which we are using as park was allotted to us by the local government last year only for us to get to this our park yesterday and received instruction that we should vacate the place. The Divisional Police officer in Ojoo came to our park and said we should leave immediately and ever since then, we have abandoned our tricycles. ”
“We were at the Area Command and they told us that the land has been given to NURTW. This is oppression. They have their park and we have our own, other traders are there, we are doing our business without any problem, so why do they want us to leave?”.
Special Adviser to Governor Ajimobi on Community Relations, Alhaji Siyanbola, while addressing the protesters appealed to them, saying that the government will look into their matter and take the necessary steps to ensure peace reign.
But the Chairman, Caretaker Committee in Akinyele South LCDA, Mr. Yakuub Alli, while speaking on the protest told journalists that the tricyclists were asked to vacate the area in order for peace to reign.
Alli said, “They were ask to vacate the place in the interest of peace. We realize that the unions occasionally have crisis among one another other and in order to forestall breakdown of law and order, we decided that they leave.
“There are about 10 parks in that place, and we have told them to go and look for another place and we will approve it for them.”
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