The President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers ( NURTW ), Alhaji Tajudeen Baruwa has said that his group would defend the mandate legally given to them by members with the ” last drop of their blood”, describing what happened as a Coup d’etat.

Baruwa who expressed disappointment over the failure of security agencies in recovering the Union’s National Headquarters from the group said to be loyal to the Lagos Park Management Committee, noted that the legally elected officers of the Union would not fold their hand, and allow Impostors to steal their mandate.

According to him, ” We shall henceforth not hesitate to defend our mandate with the last drop of our blood,” Baruwa said.

He said,” For the purpose of further clarification, the election of the present national officers of the union otherwise known as National Administrative Council ( NAC ) members headed by me ( Alhaji Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa ) being rejected by the former National President Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin and former National Vice President, Alh. Agbede and a few others from Lagos State were held concurrently on the 24^thMay 2023 during the last special zonal delegates conference held in six zonal councils of the union in line with Articles 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the union constitution respectively.

” Consequently, on 22^ndAugust 2023, the 10^thQuadrennial National Delegate Conference of the Union was conveyed at Ta’aL Hotels Lafia Nasarawa State where the newly elected National Officers ( 18 ) were formally inaugurated and sworn in.

” It will further interest you to know that Najeem Usman Yasin has summoned a meeting of all the state councils of the union here in Abuja on 12^thof September 2023 with a view to cajoling them to abandon the mandate duly given to me and my colleagues during the last special zonal delegates conference of the union held on 24^thMay 2023 and subsequent inauguration and swearing in on 22^ndAugust 2023 at the last 10^thQuadrennial National Delegate Conference.

He called on the Inspector General of Police ( IGP) Olukayode Egbetokun and Director General of the Department of State Services ( DSS ), Yusuf Magaji Bichi to rein in the former President of the union, Alhaji Najeem Usman and former National Vice President, Alhaji Tajudeen Badru Agbede and their hired thugs to vacate the National Secretariat of the union which was illegally burgled and occupied since three weeks ago.

He said the leadership of the union has taken several steps to resolve the problems including lodging of formal complaints to the Nigerian Police, DSS, Federal Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Vice President’s office, National Security Adviser Ministry of Defence and Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC ) without any positive results. (New Telegraph)