STEP ASIDE HONOURABLY, OYO DRIVERS TELL TOKYO

Members of the crisis-ridden Oyo State Council of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) yesterday asked erstwhile factional leader in the union, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (a.k.a. Tokyo) to toe the line of honour by stepping aside honourably like his predecessors.

In a statement signed by Mr. Kazeem Adigun on behalf of the drivers in the state and made available to journalists, the drivers' union hammered on the need for Tokyo to step aside in the interest of the majority of the transport union members.

The drivers noted that they were in support of the ban slammed on Tokyo and another factional leader in the union, Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi (a.k.a. Auxiliary) by the national headquarters of the union under the leadership of Alhaji Nojeem Yasin. 'Having been in the saddle and corridor of power for almost 25 years, Tokyo should allow fresh blood with kind heart and peaceful disposition to be in the saddle of running the affairs of the union for unity and progress to take place in NURTW.'

The drivers claimed that Tokyo's leadership positions in the union, which spanned 25 years included his sojourn as state vice-chairman of the union for 11 years and another 12 years he spent as chairman of the union in the pacesetter state.

They listed Tokyo's predecessors who had at one time or the other spent short time in office and bowed out to include Chief James Ojewumi, Alhaji Tawa Abubakar, Alhaji Bashiru Adigun and Alhaji Azeez Bogunbe.

While admonishing the state Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi to stand by his words of not involving NURTW in partisan politics, the group commended him for painstakingly waiting for the national headquarters of the union to put in place a Caretaker Committee members to run the affairs of the union in line with promise of the incumbent administration to restore lasting peace and unity among the drivers in the state.