The Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Musiliu Akinsanya, has reacted to the clash between rival groups of the union at the Obalende area of Lagos Island.
Theeditorngr.com had reported that there was tension on Thursday morning at Obalende following a violent clash between NURTW and a rival union.
It was gathered that people were seen running in different directions for safety while several properties were destroyed. Scores of people were also said to have sustained injuries.
But in an interview on Thursday, spokesman for the NURTW Chairman, Jimoh Buhari, said a rival union in the state attacked NURTW officials in the area in a bid to take over the park.
He accused officials of the Road Transport Employers’ Association Of Nigeria (RTEAN) of storming the park with weapons in order to take over toll collection at the park.
Buhari denied reports that the clash was between NURTW members, saying that there are more than one transport unions in the state.
He said, “That is a mix-up, it was the other union (RTEAN) that went to Obalende to attack our men, NURTW men.
“Each of the unions has its own garage that it is operating within. But Road Employee union whose members put on yellow uniform went to attack our men who put on a white and green uniform.“We have like three unions in Lagos but there are two major unions – NURTW and RTEAN.
“One of them was caught and handed over to the police and he said it was the chairman of RTEAN, Musa Mohammed, who sent them to take over NURTW garage at Obalende.â€
