How Hon. Kazeem Salako Averted Violent Protest Over Transport Unions In Ado-Odo/Ota Local Area

According to information available to Ogun News Express, the cause of the averted violence was the seeming exclusion of All Progressive Congress (APC) members from road transport union jobs after the victory of the party at the last governorship election in May 2019.

It would be recalled that Prince Dapo Abiodun of the APC defeated the candidate of former governor Ibikunle Amosun’s sponsored Allied Progressive Movement (APM) candidate, Abdulkadir Akinlade at the election.

After the inauguration of Prince Dapo Abiodun as the new governor of Ogun state on May 29 2019, there had been expectations from the youths of the APC that all executive members of transport unions, especially AMORAN (motorcycles) and TWORA (tricycles) who were practically installed by former governor Amosun who actually worked for the opposition APM guber candidate would all be sacked.

But as a major money spinner and revenue source for the new government, Gov Dapo Abiodun in his own wisdom only caused the state leadership of the unions be dissolved, replacing all of them with a central State Transport Caretaker Committee headed by Barrister Sunday Adeniyi, leaving out the executives of all the 20 local government areas in the state in the hands of those the APC youths have branded ‘political enemies’

This caused agitations among local youth wings of the APC, especially in Ado-Odo/Ota local government as their anger continued to build, while the Chairman of the Transport unions committee in Ado-Odo/Ota, Hon Olakunle Kazeem Salako continued to plead with the youths to be patient, that the process of revenue generation for the new government must not be dislocated.

But after waiting throughout the month of June and closer to the end of July, the youths got more agitated.

On Sunday 21st of July, the agitation got to its head and the youths planned to get violent as they assembled around the Ota sports and recreation center along Ilo Awela road in their hundreds, chanting war songs.

“What happened was that directive came again from the state committee to the local government committee that union tickets should be given to the APM members alone, because they believe the APC guys will be new and could record financial losses for the government. The APC youths felt betrayed that after working so hard for the victory of the party in the state, and two months down the line, the leadership of their own party continued to patronize their ‘enemies’, leaving them to wander around, doing nothing. I think they have legitimate reasons to be aggrieved.

“So, the APC youths planned to beat up the APM guys and hijack the union tickets. But their plans did not work, owing to the timely intervention of Hon Kazeem Salako who worked out a solution to calm frayed nerves.” Our source narrated.

We gathered that Hon Salako, who is an experienced politician and administrator per excellent along with some of his committee members called the leaders of the APC youths and negotiated that the APC youths should work alongside the APM as joint branch chairmen under the caretaker arrangement. The tickets were thereafter jointly handed over to the two groups and charged to work in harmony.

“That singular action doused the tension. It was meant for the APC youths to learn the trade from the APM guys who had been running the affairs of the unions for the past eight years under former governor Ibikunle Amosun. They are working together now. You will see both groups working hand in hand in all the about 80 branches of the unions in Ado-Odo/Ota local government”, the source added.

Ogun News Express however learned that all the caretaker committees across the state would be disbanded by September and all structures of the unions will be handed over to the APC members.