Extortion: Drama as Lagos bus drivers quit their strike

The Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria, JDWAN, leadership yesterday decided to call off its seven-day strike over allegations of extortion on important state routes by employees of the Lagos State Park and Garages Management.
The suspension is in effect awaiting further resolution of the issue because certain group members have stated they won’t restart until their complaints have been addressed.

Members of JDWAN began a seven-day warning strike on Monday, and it started its third day yesterday.

However, after a crucial stakeholders’ meeting with state government representatives, led by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, MOT, Gbolahan Toriola, held at the ministry’s conference hall, Alausa, Ikeja, the JDWAN, led by Akintade Abiodun, yesterday instructed its members to return to work.

Related: confusion as the strike by Lagos bus drivers continues

After the strike, the state government called a meeting with the unregistered union’s leadership in an effort to address their complaints about possible extortion.
The state government and the leadership of the transport union decided to reschedule the meeting in the meantime in order to accommodate a larger attendance because members of the Lagos State Parks and Garages, led by Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, were not present despite waiting for JDWAN members for hours past the scheduled time.

The Federal Assisted Mass Transit Incorporation, FAMTI, Owners, Drivers and Conductors Association, ODCA, Commercial Bus Drivers and Owners Operators of Lagos, CBDOP, Mini Bus Drivers Welfare Association, MNDWA, and Ibile Drivers Stakeholders Association of Nigeria, DSWAN, were among the other transport unions JDWAN directed to resume operations at the conclusion of the meeting.
When contacted, Gbolahan Toriola, the permanent secretary of the ministry of transportation, told Vanguard that the state government was committed to putting an end to the strike as soon as feasible.

Toriola voiced the government’s worry over the protracted strike and claimed that the public’s interest required the meeting after hearing the union leaders’ charges, assaults on members, and demands during the meeting.