Lagos govt to meet striking commercial drivers Wednesday as public transportation gets chaotic

Lagos State Government has fixed a meeting with aggrieved commercial drivers on Wednesday (November 2) as commuters went through harrowing experience on Monday, the first day of the drivers’ seven-day industrial action.

The Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria (JDWAN), an umbrella body for commercial drivers, had declared the seven-day strike over alleged extortion by the management of motor parks in Lagos.

The strike left commuters standing at their bus stops for hours on Monday and forced motorcyclists to take advantage of the situation.

A statement issued by Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, on Monday, the Lagos government said a meeting with the association had been scheduled for Wednesday.

The government, which recalled it had held a meeting with the drivers on October 28, said it was looking into their demands “with a view to finding permanent solutions to the issues raised by the association.”

The statement read in part, “Sequel to the announcement by JDWAN to embark on a seven-day strike starting from 31st October, 2022, the state government, through the Ministry of Transportation, had invited its leadership to a meeting on Friday, 28th October, 2022, despite its non-affiliation to any of the transport unions, such as NURTW and RTEAN, known to the state.”

He said most of the union members at the meeting were from the Badagry axis and it was resolved that the meeting be adjourned till Wednesday November 2nd, 2022 to have a larger house, which would include representatives of other recognised unions with a view to resolving the matter amicably.

While noting that the outcome of the second meeting scheduled for Wednesday would be made known to the public, Giwa urged members of JDWAN and other transporters to continue their daily work without fear of molestation and intimidation as security agencies had been directed to maintain law and order.

The Lagos government also warned those taking advantage of the strike by hiking transport fares “to desist from doing so or face the consequences of their illegal actions.”

At some of the bus stops, only private cars and minibuses popularly known as Korope were seen operating.

From Agege to Ifako-Ijaiye, Iyana-Ipaja to Ikeja, Egbeda to Ikotun, the situation was chaotic at many bus stops as commuters jostled for few available buses despite sudden hike in fares.

While some commuters grudgingly paid the high fares to connect to their destinations, others took to trekking long distances.

In a statement by JDWAN’s lawyer, Ayo Ademiluyi, he lamented “excessive and illegal ticketing and tolling” at almost every bus stop in the state.

According to him, commercial bus drivers have been sentenced to extortion and violent harassment by MC Oluomo’s men.

“On a daily basis, we lose half of our income to the motor park boys. We pay exorbitant charges at the garages and at every bus stop where we drop off passengers, whether we pick up passengers or not, we pay morning, afternoon and night. Some routes have 25 bus stops which also serve as illegal tax collection avenues,” the statement partly read.

“When we resist the extortion, we get arrested and pay N10,000 for bail to the police while the motor park boys go scot free and we also have to bail our buses separately.

“Lagos drivers also pay for entertainment, security, unit chairman’s food and many other ridiculous levies with threat of violence at any slight refusal by the drivers. This is the exact case of the popular parlance on exploitation of labourers, “baboon dey work and monkey dey chop”.

“Lagos commercial drivers work like elephants and eat like ants while the urchins under the aegis of motor park workers take a large chunk of our earnings. We can hardly fulfill our contractual obligations with our business partners, feed our family or afford maintenance or repair of our vehicles,” the statement added.

The commercial bus drivers demanded that only Lagos State Government’s ticket should be the only ticket in Lagos.

The statement said, “We kick against paying motor park thugs at every bus stop. All illegal money paid after we leave the garages and parks should be abolished immediately. Harassment of law enforcement agencies & intimidation with guns, cutlasses, and broken bottles by LASTMA (Lagos State Traffic Management Authority), task force and RRS (Rapid Response Squad) must end immediately. They collaborate and hire thugs to attack and extort us every day without violating any law.”