The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the re-election of Tajudeen Baruwa as the National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), rendering the recent election of Musiliu Akinsanya, widely known as MC Oluomo, invalid.
According to court documents, the appellate court affirmed the March 11, 2024, judgment of the National Industrial Court, Abuja, which recognized Baruwa’s leadership. This judgment effectively nullifies the November 9, 2024, election that saw MC Oluomo emerge as the union’s president during a conference held in Osogbo, Osun State.
The ruling was delivered by a panel of three justices—Hamma Akawu Barka, Nnamdi Okwy Dimgba, and Asmau Ojuolape Akanbi—who dismissed the appeal and imposed a cost of N100,000 on the appellants.
“This Appeal is devoid of merit and the same is hereby dismissed,” the court stated in its judgment, which was read by Justice Barka.
The court further affirmed the National Industrial Court’s validation of the delegates’ conference held on May 24, 2023, across six zonal councils, where Baruwa secured a second term as president. It also upheld the August 23, 2023, National Delegates Conference in Lafia, Nasarawa State, where Baruwa and other national officers were inaugurated.
Justice O. O. Oyewumi of the National Industrial Court had earlier ruled that the October 25, 2023, national delegates’ conference, which produced Isa Ore as acting president, and the subsequent November 9, 2024, election overseen by Ore, were invalid.
The judgment declared that there was no evidence of a leadership crisis in the union to justify the invocation of a ‘doctrine of necessity,’ which led to the formation of a caretaker committee by the former president, Najeem Yasin.
Oyewumi also restrained Yasin, the union’s former president and chairman of its Board of Trustees, from interfering in the day-to-day operations of the union, limiting his role to board matters.
“This National Delegates Conference held on October 25, 2023, cannot stand and is hereby declared null and void,” the judge ruled.
The Appeal Court’s decision has now cemented Baruwa’s position as the legitimate leader of the NURTW, invalidating all actions taken by the Isa Ore-led caretaker committee and the election that brought MC Oluomo to power.
(SAHARAREPORTERS)
