Date: 2019-08-10

Kwara State National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Chairman Alhaji Aliyu Issa Ore has advised that kidnapping and other violent crimes on highways can be stemmed, if illegal transport unions are banned by the government.

Ore spoke while welcoming members in the North Central states (Zone 4) to the opening of their secretariat in the Kwara State capital.

The secretariat was funded by the national body of NURTW headed by Alhaji Najeem Yasin and Kwara donated the land opposite the Ilorin International Airport.

According to him, illegal transport unions abound across the states of the federation, which often times were difficult to be held responsible for suspected involvement in the events of crimes committed on the routes they ply illegally.

He said no registration of these unions were done in the first place and so they operate freely even in these days of crimes like assassinations and robberies aided by unknown transporters and fake passengers.

His words: "Three of such unions operating in Kwara were the Nigeria Association of Cooperative Transporters (NACT), Association of Okada Riders and Taxi Owners Association.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who commissioned the edifice through his deputy, Mr. Kayode Alabi, said NURTW is one of the major partners of government helping to reduce unemployment in the country.

"Statistics ?shows that the road transport sector constitutes one of the largest employers of labour in the economy with over 1.5 million people engaged in the sector," the governor said.

President of NURTW, Alhaji Najeem Yasin, who was commended for bringing the union to a level of envy among other unions in the country, told the gathering that his executive was building six edifices in the geo-political zones of the country.

Yasin said already, four (including Ilorin) had been built and commissioned in Gusau for North West, Gombe for North East, Oshogbo for South West and the newly commissioned Ilorin for North Central.

First Class traditional rulers led by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari, Federal Road Safety Corps Marshall, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi and NURTW delegates from across Nigeria attended the occasion.