Musa Maitakobi, the president of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, has disclosed that its members will not be used to disrupt the presidential election slated for February 25.
The association, he also stated has yet to sign an agreement with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the movement of election materials on election day.
The RTEAN boss spoke while answering questions from journalists during its National Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
He also spoke following a court order barring INEC from contracting a rival body, the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, LSPMC, led by Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo from assisting the electoral body to move election materials in the state.
Akinsanya and his group had initially entered into an agreement with the electoral umpire to assist in logistics by providing thousands of buses for the election materials to be moved across the state.
Akinsanya is a staunch backer of the All Progressives Congress, APC presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
But Speaking on the election, Maitakobi said the association has not declared support for any of the leading presidential candidates.
Apart from Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP are believed to be in a tight race ahead of the very critical election.
Maitakobi said, “The message is simple. Members of RTEAN, anywhere you find yourself, don’t be allowed to be used as thugs or hooligans. I know our members are law-abiding citizens and we, as an association, will not allow any member to involve himself in any trouble.
“Today, being February 20, 2023, we have special message to our members throughout the federation. The message is simple. Members of RTEAN, anywhere you find yourself, don’t be allowed to be used as thugs or hooligans.
“I know our members are law-abiding citizens and we, as an association, will not allow any member to involve himself in any trouble.”
“Our constitution did not tell me to have a preference among people contesting elections. Our constitution does not recognise ethnicity, religion and politics,” he stated.
“We are vehicle owners. We are not drivers and we are representing the Federal Republic of Nigeria in trade union act. We can’t go otherwise. INEC knows we are here and they know our headquarters. If they invite us, we will go and if they don’t, we can’t push ourselves to INEC. If you want to know reason why we are yet to sign an MoU, it is better to communicate with the INEC chairman and ask him why he didn’t invite RTEAN this year,” the RTEAN boss said.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos had on Monday stopped INEC from engaging the services of the LSPMC, to distribute election materials in the state pending the hearing and determination of a suit filed by the Labour Party and five others.
The court granted “an order of interlocutory injunction filed by the Labour Party and five others restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (defendant/respondent), whether by itself or by its officers, affiliates, servants, privies or agents or any person acting or purporting to act for and on behalf howsoever from taking any steps or further steps whatsoever in furtherance of the engagement or appointment or consummating the appointment of Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo-led Lagos State Parks Management Committee or any of its commercial bus drivers to distribute 2023 election materials and personnel in Lagos State pending the hearing and determination the substantive suit.”
