Osun Government Rejects NURTW Caretaker Committee, Backing Alowonle

The Osun State Government has invalidated Kazeem Oyewale's (also called Asiri Eniba) appointment to lead the union's state council. State officials maintain that Nurudeen Alowonle and his executive constitute the only recognized National Union of Road Transport Workers leadership within Osun, according to statements from the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment.

Misinterpretation plagued the aftermath of a state security council meeting that precipitated this conflict. The government clarified that it did not dissolve the union's leadership; instead, it suspended activities in motor parks to restore peace and order.

When national NURTW leadership subsequently set up a seven-member caretaker committee headed by Oyewale at union headquarters in Abuja for managing state affairs during the leadership turmoil, this clarification gained additional significance. National union officials rejected what they termed governmental overreach, arguing that Governor Adeleke lacks constitutional authority to suspend the union's operations.

Such tensions emerged between national-level directives and state-level actions, notably those endorsed by Osun's Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, which backed motor park suspensions and supported temporary transport management structures. The prolonged organizational conflict has generated competing claims regarding legitimacy between national and state levels.

While Osun authorities recognize the Alowonle group, the national NURTW has moved forward with establishing Oyewale's competing leadership framework. Local government chairs and transport union allies within Osun backed the suspension strategy, yet the national body's establishment of rival leadership structures has deepened the organizational division.