Lagos: Bus Drivers End Strike Following Stakeholder Meeting: JDWAN Member

The follow-up to the meeting on Wednesday between the Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria, officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, and the Lagos Parks and Garages Management Committee

PunchLive Space with Oluwakemi Abimbola:

Explanations from the co-host, @DanielChibuzo8 (CelebrityDanfoDriver), a member of JDWAN after today’s meeting.

1. He claimed the meeting had been postponed twice because members of the Lagos State Parks & Garages (P&G) Management Committee were absent.
2. That he was present at the Alausa HQs but not in the meeting because it was strictly for the EXCOs. Phones & Recordings were not allowed but they had been communicated to, by their people.
3. Representatives of the Lagos State Ministry of Transport (LSMoT) insisted that they are not aware of any extortion by members of any Union.
4. That the LSMoT advised JDWAN to liaise with the Parks and Garages Management Committee to settle the issues.
5. That they have suspended the strike today.
6. That JDWAN will meet with the Parks & Garages Committee for an amicable resolution.
7. That if not listened to, a more forceful approach will be implemented from November 12, 2022.

Following questions from Speakers;

He also stated that the Lagos State Consolidated ticket (N800) is been paid by drivers daily, however, several checkpoints are mounted where illegal levies are collected.

At some Parks, three passengers are allocated to Owo Chairman, booking and loading, etc. and they sometimes pay between N5800 to N7000 daily. Again, he explained that there is a subsisting order of the Federal High Court in Lagos, outlawing illegal levies from Union, but the Government seems non-committal.

He stated that their struggle is mainly to correct three things:

• Illegal tolling.
• Harassment from task force officials and ‘agberos’.
• Communal Relationship.

In Summary:
They want these agberos off the road and be told in clear terms how much they should pay daily.[/i]

He added that some of their members were also arrested and are presently in Police Custody.

Onyebuchi Michael was arrested on Monday at Alafia, Orile Police Station. He was charged to Court and has been transferred to Onikan Zone 2.

Ibrahim Adisa and Felix were also arrested for joining the strike, perhaps protesting. They are presently at Area ‘K’ Police Station and efforts to release them have been futile.

The Recording can be found here.