Transport Crusader Challenges NURTW’s Activities In PH

A co-operative transport  
    Crusader and founder of the transport Co-operative Movement in Rivers State, Mr. Tubonemi  Wokoma has challenged  the eligibility of the National Union of Road Transport  Workers (NURTW) in the trade union law, describing them as impostors.
Wokoma made this assertion in a paper titled, “The Truth Must Be Told to  NURTW Impostors”, and made available to The Tide correspondent in Port Harcourt recently.
According to him, the impurity of NURTW defies  the nation’s law openly as they operate  contrary  to the  laws in the commercial road transport sector, adding that they used  their  position to enslave the self-employed commercial road transporters and the commuting public for years.
He said it is disheartening that the  Labour and transport ministries allowed  NURTW impostors  to perpetrate all kinds of illegalities to destroy  this very important economic  sector in the  nation, adding that, “The NURTW negative activities affects the revenue of the state and the  local government, but still, they allow  such  activities to  keep on affecting   their  revenue, suppress  the self-employed  transporters and give the commuting public  wrong  mentality”.
The crusader noted that the transport  sector  comprises 90  per cent self-employed workforce in the intra-city  transport sector and 60 per cent interstate transport  workforce, totaling  more  than 25,000 workforce in the  day to day transport activities.
Wokoma, who is  also a co-founder of  the Nigerian Association of Co-operative Transporters Ltd (NACT), which  is the  national umbrella  body of all co-operative transport societies in Nigeria reiterated  that the self-employed transporters and the gainfully employed workers of corporate road transport companies are both separated  by the law, an d make  reference to the Labour Act Section 91 (1) Cap 198 LFN, but frowned that today the self acclaimed members of NURTW have  taken over the self-employed transport sector  with the assistance  of the ministries and local government areas.
According to him, they have gone beyond  their bye-laws  by forcefully impounding vehicle mechanically propelled for  non-payment  of tax as they also carry  out illegal seizures, impose fines on seized vehicles without due process of law.
“Their illegal activities encourage the  NURTW importers  and gave them the  illegal power to take over and control the illegal  business of the self-employed drivers with criminal style, NURTW openly and courageously conscript self employed transporters.
The founder disclosed that the illegal activities of NURTW started 37 years  ago, when the road  transport sector had few gainfully employed workers as staff of commercial road transport companies, pointing out that that situation later  changed when the sacked  workers of road transport  companies  joined  hand with criminally minded members to use  the name of NURTW to  impersonate to camouflage  for their illegal activities in the country.
When contacted on  telephone, the Deputy State Chairman  of NURTW,  Ominiayebagha  Duma Kalango simply said the constitution establishing  the union is there to explain further as they are a Road Transport Worker union and bonafide members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Rivers State.