Why NURTW President Baruwa May Lose Lagos In Fight With MC Oluomo

The stage is set for a major battle between the Ibikunle Baruwa, the National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and the more popular chairman of the Lagos state chapter of the transport union MC Oluomo (real name Musiliu Akinsanya).

Baruwa in an intense power struggle, believed to be orchestrated by behind the scene figures within the transport union, has given MC Oluomo “stringent” conditions to retain his position as state chairman.

The National President in a move that undermines the power of the state chairman wants him to restore “disloyal branch chairmen” in his domain, recognize the new body for tricycle operators (TOOAN) which reduces his influence and apologize for trying to have full control of the NURTW in Lagos state.

Though Oluomo is yet to respond to the directives by Baruwa contained in a query signed by General Secretary of the union, Alhaji Kabiru Ado Yau which accused him of “insubordination”, the information available to SocietyNow.Ng revealed that “It is a recipe for disaster waiting to happen in Lagos state”.

Those who understand the workings of the NURTW insist that it operates on the policy of “absolute loyalty and obedience” to the most senior member in the state which is the Chairman and that is how respect in the chain of command cascades down to the smallest unit.

“Asking Oluomo to restore disloyal branch chairmen is empowering those that will challenge his authority, especially now that they know he can be overruled by the National President, and laying the foundation of inevitable open supremacy clashes in the affected areas and any other branches the discontent spreads” SocietyNow.Ng gathered.

Further digs by SocietyNow.Ng, however, revealed that what the National President and those pushing the agenda to take away the powers of MC Oluomo may not be taking into consideration is that they are unwittingly playing into the hands of the Lagos State Government in the plan that is already afoot for proper control of the transport sector.

There are intense whispers that the Park Management system that put NURTW operations under the wings of the government in Ogun State and Oyo is about to be introduced in Lagos as part of the efforts to make the players more “accountable and responsible” in dealings with the public.

Park Management was introduced in Ogun state with Iyeru (Akeem Bodunrin) in charge and Oyo with Auxilliary ( Mukaila Lamidi)at the helms of affairs in the face of threats of public violence over fallout between state administrators and National President Baruwa – just like it is brewing in Lagos State.

SocietyNow.Ng gathered that another factor that heavily speaks to the possible loss of the State by Baruwa is how keen Lagos Government wants to avoid anything that has a semblance to the kind of orgy of violence that rocked the state on the heels of Endsars protest gone bad.

The mindless attack that rocked Lagos in October 2020 resulted in the burning and vandalization of Government facilities on a large scale.

The government which is yet to recover from the “heavy losses” has consistently taken urgent steps to quell threats of violence that may spread in any part of the state.

“So it is very possible that the state government responds to brewing face-off between Oluomo and Baruwa before things turn ugly by hastening to ban NURTW operations in Lagos and put in place Park Management system or something like that” SocietyNow.Ng gathered.

“And if we are to go by what happened in the states where Park Management has been introduced, the Government need those very familiar with NURTW operations to ease the transition and it is clear which of the parties at war in Lagos will benefit from this” the added information at hand revealed.

MC Oluomo and his co-travelers in charge of the Lagos state chapter of the NURTW are not just members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but deeply embedded in the power circle in charge of the government.