The leadership crisis surrounding the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, in Osun State took a fresh turn on Friday as the union’s National President, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, declared that Governor Ademola Adeleke has no constitutional or legal authority to suspend the activities of the union in the state.

MC Oluomo’s position followed the Osun State Government’s directive suspending all NURTW activities across motor parks in the state over security concerns ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

The state government, through the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said the decision was reached after a meeting of the State Security Council chaired by Governor Adeleke.

According to the government, security agencies were directed to halt the collection of levies by NURTW members in all motor parks, while anyone parading himself as an official or executive of the union should be arrested.

However, addressing journalists at the union’s national headquarters in Abuja, MC Oluomo, represented by the Deputy National President of the NURTW, Aliyu Ore, rejected the governor’s directive, insisting that no state governor possesses the legal authority to suspend the operations of the union.

He maintained that the NURTW is a national body established by law and not an agency under the control of any state government.

“No governor in Nigeria has the constitutional power to suspend the activities of our union. We are established by law and are not under the control of any state government,” he said.

The union further disclosed that lingering factional disputes had left its Osun chapter without effective leadership in recent weeks.

To prevent a leadership vacuum ahead of the forthcoming governorship election, MC Oluomo said the national leadership had constituted a caretaker committee to oversee the affairs of the union in the state.

He explained that the decision was also informed by the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed between the NURTW and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to ensure orderly conduct during the election period.

The newly inaugurated caretaker committee is headed by Kazeem Oyewale as Chairman, with Sunday Oludare serving as Secretary and Lukman Ahmed as Treasurer. Other members include Ismaila Abdurahim, Adebayo Tajudin, Tajudin Akin and Ayinde Mutiu.

According to the NURTW leadership, the caretaker committee will administer the affairs of the Osun chapter until all internal disputes are resolved.

The latest development is expected to heighten political and legal debates over the powers of state governments in regulating the activities of labour unions and transport operators, especially as Osun prepares for its governorship election.