Alaafin Settles Transporters’ Rift In Oyo

By Wale Adele - 08.03.2008

THE Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, has settled the age-long crisis rocking the rank of the two transport unions, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in the ancient town.

Members of the two unions had been on each other’s throat, leading to loss of lives and property until Oba Adeyemi invited their leaders to a meeting in his palace on Thursday.

The meeting, which lasted about four hours, had in attendance members of the Alaafin kitchen cabinet, the three local government chairmen of Atiba, Oyo East and Oyo West, leaders of the two unions and representatives of the security agencies.

The monarch urged the leaders of the two groups to educate their followers on the beauty of dialogue, saying they were all his children and, therefore, should report to him whenever they had crisis instead of resorting to violence.

At the end of the meeting, the leaders of the two groups thanked the monarch for his intervention, promising to toe the line of peace thenceforth.

They also pledged to invite all their runaway members to return to their duty posts.