BREAKING: Lagos Drivers Suspend 7 Days Warning Strike

Lagos drivers, under the aegis of the Joint Drivers Association of Nigeria (JDWAN), Lagos State Chapter, has put on hold its planned seven days warning strike which was slated for Monday, October 31, 2022.

Information Nigeria learnt that JDWAN suspended the proposed warning strike after a meeting they had with the Lagos State Government on Friday.

The association was demanding an end to the excessive extortion, over-taxation, and harassment of drivers at bus stops, garages and parks in the state by garage boys, touts, and members of Lagos State Parks and Management Committee led by Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo, in connivance with law enforcement agencies in the state.

Speaking with Information Nigeria on Saturday, Adedapo Ajimatanarareje, the General Secretary of JDWAN said, “The governor called us yesterday, and we were directed to the Parks Management Committee headed by retired AIG Hakeem Odumosu, the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation also called us yesterday.”

“We tendered our complaints to them and they appealed to us that they will call us for dialogue, that we should hold on, until when they will call the other parties concerned with our issue, to hear from them before they call all of us for a round table to iron things out.

“Since the government has called us to intervene in the matter, we decided to put our strike on hold until when then the government will call all of us. They promised to call us this coming week. If they resolve it, that means the strike will not go on, but pending the time they resolve the issue, we’ve put the strike on hold.”

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Confirming to Information Nigeria that the state government had met with the association to hear their grievances with the aim of resolving the matter, the State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotosho, stated that there was no need for panic was already investigating the matter.

“They showed up last night and the government had a meeting with them. They were complaining about unauthorised collection of monies on the highway,” Omotosho said.

“The government has told them that they’ve called the legitimate groups among them collecting money to find out what can be done. The money they are collecting from them that is illegal is going to be removed.

“They are coming back again for discussion, so let’s see how it goes. I don’t think there’s any reason for anybody to panic. The government is on top of the matter and we are making moves to see that those who may have been collecting money from them illegally, are stopped,” the commissioner added.