On Tuesday, the Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria (JDWAN) members striking in Lagos were urged to take into account the misery of commuters and call off their strike.
JDWAN started a seven-day strike on Monday because the management of the vehicle park and the Agbero thugs in Lagos State are accused of extortion and harassment.
Many commercial drivers in Lagos State have stopped operating, leaving many commuters stranded at various bus terminals throughout the state while the majority commute a considerable distance to work.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Hakeem Amode, the Lagos State PDP Publicity Secretary, asked the irate transport workers to engage in discussion with the APC-led government to put a stop to commuter hardship.
“The continued fleecing of the commuters and transport operators in Lagos State which has resulted in the members of the sector declaring strike, calls for the attention of everyone living, commuting, and working in the state of excellence.
“We sympathise with the Lagos State transport operators on their strike and urge them to consider the plight of ordinary commuters in Lagos, who also bear the brunt of their agitation through the exorbitant transport fares which have eaten deep into their salary.
“We urge them to come up with an acceptable condition of operation and dialogue with the APC government to find a mutually beneficial position that would not put the people of the state in more agony,” Amode said.
The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) transfer to the Lagos State Parks Management Authority, according to the PDP spokesman, was the root of the issue.
He claimed that the threat of car park touts has grown in the state as a result of previous administrations’ unwillingness to invest in the constructive development of young people.
“The government’s failure in education and youth development sectors had driven a lot of our youth to scavenge for daily collection of fares from transport operators.
“The recent promulgation of the State Parks Management Authority bill gives credence and legitimacy to this act,” he said.
While expressing sympathy for the situation of the state’s transportation companies, Amode claimed that some drivers received daily wages between N7,500 and N2,500, which cost the companies money.
While enforcing the collection of levies, he claimed that the everyday injuries they sustained from motor park touts were also a big problem.
According to Amode, the PDP administration would ease the restrictions on transport businesses if won in the general elections of 2023.
The PDP government, led by its candidate for governor, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Adediran, and his running partner, Ms. Funke Akindele, would “do everything possible to guarantee that the period of multiple taxation and collection of illegal dues on the road become a thing of the past,” the spokesman stated.
He declared that the PDP government’s priorities will be to direct young people’s energies toward community services, technology, sports, and education.
“We will make street urchins unacceptable in our community, thereby putting an end to “Agbero” in the city of Lagos.
“We appeal to the government of the state to respect the spirit of unionism and protection of interest of members of the commercial transport operators’ group by respecting their opinions.
“The government must consider their agitation to avoid chaos in an already tensed city, where poverty is currently fueling aggravation,” Amode said.
