Some taxi drivers in Lagos State recently called on Governor Babatunde Fashola to intervene in their alleged exploitation by a leasing company.

The drivers, who operate a group of taxis known as Red Cabs, made the call while staging a peaceful protest in Lagos.

They parked their vehicles numbering about 40 at the Motorway Bus Stop on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in front of a building where the leasing company, Citrance Global Ltd, a subsidiary of C & I Leasing Plc, is occupying.

The drivers carried placards as they stood in front of the building.

Some of them told newsmen that the lease conditions were difficult and negatively affected their families’ welfare.

One of them, Mr. Kole Ibidapo, said “A lot of things are wrong with the conditions given to us by the company.

“Everybody here is ready to work but the whole arrangement is wrong. We pay N38,500 weekly to the company; what is the market value of these cars?”

Mr. Ifeanyi Victor, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said that he had worked for two years under the lease conditions because of the lack of white collar jobs.

“On election days and all the public holidays when we did not work, we were still expected to remit the N38,000.

“They want us to repair and maintain the vehicles but refused to reduce the target,” he said.