2023: Transport union boss warns politicians against using members as thugs

By Cyril Mbah, Abuja

A Chairman of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in Gwagwalada Area Council, Comrade Saliyu Mustapha has warned politicians who are desperately trying to enlist or recruit road transport workers as thugs for the 2023 general election to desist from such plans or risk being exposed.

Mustapha disclosed that the union has received a deluge of complaints from concerned members who have been contacted and invited by politicians to join their campaign trains and serve as thugs for the 2023 general election.

In an interview held at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area of Gwagwalada, Mustapha warned that gullible members who may succumb to the temptation to serve as thugs for tempting cash rewards stand the risk of being sanctioned or being expelled for undermining the electoral process.

The union leader promised that the leadership of road transport workers in the FCT will do everything possible to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to push the planned election forward to a successful conclusion.

“Road transport workers are responsible people; although there are some bad eggs among us who call themselves Agbero. We are not Agbero. Transportation is a serious business. We are neutral and we want to use this opportunity to warn our members who may be tempted to accept the offer of politicians to become thugs, that we would not tolerate them.”

“We will not allow our members to follow politicians to kill people or disrupt the elections. Whoever does so behind us should not come to us when the person is arrested because there will be no space for them in our parks. We also warn politicians to stay away from our boys and stop enticing them,” Mustapha warned.

He appealed to union members and Nigerians who have not collected their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to do so before the end of the deadline provided for the exercise, stressing that the voters’ cards will serve as the best weapon that patriotic citizens can use to bring change in the country by electing good leaders.

On the challenges facing RTEAN, Mustapha complained about double taxation from agencies of Gwagwalada Area Council, saying that some revenue officers compel drivers to pay as much as N2,000 to N10,000 weekly for loading in authorised parks.

He appealed to the area council to construct a trailer garage within the area known as SDP Ward in Gwagwalada to prevent double parking on the highway which leads to the narrowing of the road and avoidable accidents.

Mustapha reminded the council that such a big garage can be used to generate revenue as trailer drivers who stay overnight can be charged fees apart from the money that can be generated from smaller businesses which will sprout in the area.

In a related development, a religious leader, Agnes Blessed Ben Ike appealed to politicians to give special consideration to women in the 2023 general elections by devolving power for rapid development in the country.

Agnes Ike, who founded and presides over God’s Security Evangelical Ministries Worldwide, told newsmen in Abuja that Nigeria will surpass other foreign nations in development and wealth when women are allowed to head the leadership structures of the country.

The cleric advocated for a government based on theology, stating that living conditions will improve significantly and poverty eradicated from the country when the nation practices what she called a “Government of God by God for God’s people on earth.”