The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has kicked against Governor Ademola Adeleke’s directive suspending the activities of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state, describing the order as unconstitutional, illegal and beyond his powers.
In a statement issued Thursday by its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, the party said the directive given to security agencies to halt NURTW operations and arrest anyone parading as a union official had no backing in law.
According to the APC, Adeleke’s move followed a leadership crisis within the union, which had already led local government authorities to suspend the union’s leadership and transport activities pending consultations with its national body. The party said chairmen of the state’s 30 local government councils, alongside the Ife-East Area Office, Modakeke, had met with transport unions — including motorcycle and tricycle operators — and agreed to set up a caretaker management committee pending the emergence of substantive leaders.
The APC argued that the governor’s intervention amounted to meddling in the affairs of a legally registered association, questioning the quality of legal advice guiding the state government. It said the directive violated Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association.
“The latest illegal directive issued by the outgoing Governor Adeleke dabbling into the affairs of the management of the motor parks by the NURTW across the state which is an association duly registered puts to question the quality of those offering legal advice to the embattled governor,” the party said.
The APC expressed confidence that security agencies would decline to enforce what it called an unlawful order, insisting that disputes involving the union should be settled in court rather than by executive fiat.
The party referenced a Court of Appeal ruling in a case between the Oyo State Government and NURTW, where the appellate court struck down Governor Seyi Makinde’s 2019 suspension of the union as unlawful and unconstitutional. It noted that while state governments retain constitutional responsibility for maintaining law and order, such powers must stay within legal limits and cannot be used to suspend a registered association without proper legal authority.
Citing the judgment further, the APC said the court had held that allegations of violence alone were not enough to justify suspending the union without concrete evidence, adding that any unlawful conduct should be handled through security agencies and the courts.
The party called on Adeleke to reverse the directive, describing it as “repugnant, ultra vires, illegal, overreaching and grossly unconstitutional.”
READ ALSO:
- Blessing CEO Regains Freedom in ₦69m Fraud Case, Barred From Leaving Nigeria
- Super Falcons Get Full Squad Ahead Of WAFCON As Abiodun, Monday Arrive Late
- Former Porn Actress Deyci Ortiz Takes Senate Seat In Colombia
- “Pilot Lost Control” – Enugu Air Crash Survivor Recounts Terrifying Ordeal
- APC Slams Adeleke Over NURTW Ban, Tags Directive Unconstitutional
