At least four people lost their lives in the violent crisis which erupted among members of the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) at Udu Garage in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State.
This was as a result of the power tussle among RTEAN members in the local government area. The crisis became so fierce that some warring members of the association sustained injuries while four innocent people were killed.
But the state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has disassociated itself from the killings and bemoaned the bad image the crisis had given the state. Yesterday in Asaba, the state NURTW Chairman, Chief Ifeanyi Obi, expressed dismay over the killings and wondered why the association was operating in Udu though the state government banned it in 2017.
He said: “RTEAN was banned by the Delta State government in 2017 but the Udu Local Government recognised it which made its members to be operating solely in the local government area. We appealed to the Chairman, Hon. Jite Brown, to effect the ban of the Delta State government on RTEAN in the state.” Obi also said the killings had given the peace and security agenda of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa set back.
He added: “NURTW in Delta State is very peaceful. There is no problem in any chapter of our union in the state. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has done his best for us to have a peaceful and progressive union. So, it is very sad that RTEAN crisis degenerated to bloodshed.”
