The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has strongly criticized the recent inauguration of Musiliu Ayinde Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, as its president. According to the union, the move violates multiple court rulings and undermines the authority of the judiciary.
In a press conference held in Abuja, Alhaji Ibikunle Tajudeen Baruwa, the legitimate president of the NURTW as affirmed by court rulings, described MC Oluomo’s inauguration as illegal and a threat to democratic principles.
Baruwa explained that the courts had already validated the August 2023 National Delegates Conference in Lafia, Nasarawa State, which confirmed his leadership. Additionally, the courts nullified the October 2023 delegates’ conference and the November 2024 election that purportedly installed MC Oluomo.
The union also pointed out that MC Oluomo voluntarily withdrew from the NURTW in 2021, making him ineligible for any leadership role under the union’s constitution. Despite this, his supporters, led by former union president Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, went ahead with the inauguration.
Baruwa said, “The purported inauguration of Musiliu Ayinde Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo, as the President of NURTW is a flagrant disobedience to subsisting judgments of both the National Industrial Court and Court of Appeal delivered on March 11 and November 8, 2024, respectively, which affirmed the election of Alhaji Comrade Ibikunle Tajudeen Baruwa as the legitimate President of the NURTW for a term of four years.
“The action of the Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin-led group undermines the authority of the judiciary and poses a serious threat to democracy.
“It is an undisputable fact that Musiliu Ayinde Akinsanya, MC Oluomo, has since lost his membership of the NURTW in line with the Constitution of the union, having voluntarily exited the union on March 9, 2021, during which he publicly tore his membership card.
“There is no vacancy in the office of the President of NURTW, and so the purported and illegal inauguration is to that extent null, void, and of no effect whatsoever.
“This charade, as orchestrated by Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, a former president of the union who has served out his two terms of four years each, is an insult to the judiciary and our democratic institutions.
“We urge the Inspector General of Police to kindly use his good offices in ensuring the enforcement of the court judgment.
“We call on the Attorney General of the Federation to intervene immediately in the interest of peace, order, and tranquillity, and the rule of law.
“We appeal to all members of our great union across the country to remain calm as we explore every legal means towards ejecting the Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin-led interlopers from the NURTW national headquarters.
“We urge the general public to condemn, in totality, this affront on our democracy.”
