• Government says suspension of union activities does not affect recognised leadership
• Security agencies directed to restore order as state rejects claims of a new caretaker committee
The Osun State Government has declared that Comrade Nurudeen (Wakeel) Alowonle remains the only recognised Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Osun State, dismissing claims that the suspension of the union's activities created a leadership vacuum or paved the way for the inauguration of a caretaker committee.
The government said Governor Ademola Adeleke did not at any time dissolve the leadership of the NURTW or remove any duly appointed officials of the union, stressing that the Alowonle-led executive remains the substantive leadership recognised by both the national body of the NURTW and the Osun State Government.
The clarification followed what the government described as the deliberate misrepresentation of the resolutions reached at Thursday's State Security Council meeting, where all NURTW activities across motor parks in the state were suspended as part of efforts to restore peace and public order.
In a statement issued on Friday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the government explained that the suspension was limited to the union's activities in motor parks and should not be interpreted as the dissolution of the union's executives at either the state or local government levels.
According to the statement, Alowonle and members of his executive were duly appointed by the national leadership of the NURTW under its President, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, in line with the union's constitution and operational guidelines.
"There is no leadership vacuum in the Osun State chapter of the NURTW," the government declared, insisting that reports suggesting otherwise were false and misleading.
The state government alleged that some individuals led by Kazeen Oyewale, popularly known as Asiri Eniba, had attempted to exploit the Security Council's directive by claiming that the recognised leadership had been dissolved and that a caretaker committee could therefore be constituted.
Rejecting the claim, the government maintained that Governor Adeleke's directive was solely intended to suspend union activities in motor parks pending the restoration of peace and security, adding that the governor had also made it clear that motor parks themselves were not closed and commercial activities should continue peacefully.
The government further reaffirmed that the Alowonle-led executive remains the only leadership recognised by both the national leadership of the NURTW and the Osun State Government.
It also directed security agencies to immediately flush out Asiri Eniba and his associates from motor parks across the state, alleging that they have no legal authority to occupy or operate within the parks.
The government expressed confidence that once security is fully restored, the Alowonle-led NURTW executive would resume normal operations across the state's motor parks without any hindrance.
The latest clarification comes amid heightened tensions over the control of motor parks in Osun State, with the Adeleke administration insisting that its actions are aimed solely at preserving public order while upholding the lawful leadership structure of the transport union.
