Industrial Court sacks Oluomo’s park management committee, reinstates RTEAN

On Tuesday, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) dissolved the activities of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, reinstating the suspended Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).

RTEAN operations in Lagos had already been put on hold by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Musiliu ‘MC Oluomo’ Akinsanya was named the chairman of the parks management committee by Mr. Sanwo-Olu, who also appointed a 24-member committee to the position.

RTEAN operation was ordered to resume on Tuesday by Justice Maureen Esowe, who noted that Mr. Sanwo-Olu’s creation of a parks management committee was unlawful.

The Lagos government was barred by the judge’s judgment from meddling with the independent transport union’s operations. According to the judges, the police and the administration should have gotten involved to settle the dispute amicably.

The judge gave the police entry to their premises and ordered them to stop threatening RTEAN members and remove all barriers placed in front of their secretariat.

A preliminary objection to the defendant’s lawsuit was overruled by the court because it determined that there was no substantial dispute that called for the exchange of pleadings.

In October 2022, RTEAN filed a lawsuit under the number NICN/LA/381/2022 against the Lagos government, alleging that it had appointed a parks management committee and suspended the elected executive committee of the union in the state.

The defendants in the case were Mr. Sanwo-Olu, Moyosore Onigbanjo, the Lagos attorney general, and Sola Giwa, the special adviser to the governor on transportation.

The members of the parks management committee and the Lagos police commissioner are the fourth through 37th accused.