Construction activities may soon be halted in Edo, Delta States and neighbouring states as the Union of Tippers and Quarry Employers of Nigeria (UTQEN) has given a 14 days ultimatum to the Delta state government to stop extortion of its members moving quarry from Delta and Ondo states to Delta state and beyond.

This decision was taken in Benin City after a meeting of the union where they also accused the National Union of Roads Transports Workers (NURTW), Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) and some individuals of collecting levies forcefully from their members and at times have resulted in bodily injuries.

They said they would set up task forces in all the routes between the two states to enforce the strike at the expiration of the ultimatum by April 6 2024 if the Delta state government did not act on their demands.

Among those in the meeting were Delta state chairman and Deputy National President of the Union, Comrade Dumebi Eluaka, his counterpart in Edo State Comrade Gabriel Osaigbovo, National Trustee South-South, Comrade Bernard Iyare among other leaders and members.

Reading a communiqué after the meeting, the Edo State Deputy Chairman of the Union, Comrade Wilson Ogbaxhi said “We do not have problems at our loading point, the problem starts once we enter Delta. We pay as much as N21,000 and in some areas up to N60,000.

“We are business men and we do not believe in violence, we are not in a banana Republic, there has been a valid court judgment against the NURTW in Delta state since 2020 but it has not been implemented.”

They want the Delta state government to “Stop the forceful extortion of N3,000 from our tipping truck drivers coming into Delta state at Ugbenu near Koko junction.”

They alleged that there are some individuals “who are in conspiracy with some officials of the Delta State Ministry of Transport and have recruited touts in all the local government areas of Delta State to print different types of illegal stickers bearings the Delta State Ministry of Transport, Delta State Internal Revenue Services and Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, which they forced on our tipping trucks for various sums of money ranging from N20,000 to N40,000 as they deem fit or have the trucks detained, vandalized and the driver molested.

“Stop the National Union of road transport workers, NURTW from extorting daily, the sum of N15,000 from each of our tipping trucks offloading anywhere in Delta State whereas we pay N3,500 at source loading point at Ondo and Edo States. As we are not members of NURTW and each union have its jurisdictional scope in law.

“That if all these menaces are not addressed by the governor within these 14 days we will be left with no other option than to withdraw our Tipping Trucks from the whole of Delta State until such a time that it is safe again and business friendly for our trucks to come to Delta State.” (Vanguard)

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