Some tipper drivers in Ogun State have protested against alleged extortion by some officials of the state government.

The drivers, under the aegis of the First Nigeria Tipper and Lorry Driver’s Association, said they were being excessively charged for every job they undertook.

They said they were initially paying N2,600.00 per trip to the officials, but on last Wednesday, the group stormed their park in Aseese Tipper Garage on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and said the money had been increased to N5,000.00.

The drivers threatened that if the situation was not addressed and the new fees reversed, they would shut down the expressway.

Our correspondent gathered that the increment was to be shared between the government and some miners, who were not adequately remunerated for their labour.

A meeting that held last Thursday between the drivers and some government officials to resolve the issues ended in a deadlock.

The General Secretary of the Joint Tippers Association, Mr. Samson Oluboye, insisted that the tipper drivers would not pay the N5,000.00 fee.

He said, “We used to pay N2,600 per trip, now they want to add another N2,400, which is exorbitant for us. We cannot afford it and we don’t have the money. The government cannot be extorting money from us and reaping from our hard labour.”

One of the drivers, Akeem Olorunsola, accused the government of not caring about their welfare.

“The government only helps other groups and unions, but they don’t think about us. You will only see them when they want to collect charges,” he said.

However, a consultant from the governor’s office, Mr. Yinka Owodunni, explained that the reason for the increment was to support the miners in the state.

He said, “This money we are asking for is different from the initial charges. It is to be shared between the miners and the government.”

 

Source: Punchng.com

Comments

comments