Appeal Court Sacks MC Oluomo, Reaffirms Baruwa As NURTW President.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified the election of Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, as the national president of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). This decision upholds the leadership of Tajudeen Baruwa as the legitimate head of the union.
MC Oluomo had been declared president following a delegate conference held at the union’s zonal secretariat in Osogbo, Osun State. However, the appellate court, in a unanimous ruling delivered on Friday, 8th November, by Justices Hamma Akawu Barka, Nnamdi Okwy Dimgba, and Asmau Ojuolape Akanbi, dismissed his election and reinstated Baruwa’s presidency.
The judges upheld a previous ruling by the National Industrial Court, delivered on 11th March 2024, which confirmed Baruwa’s re-election as valid. Additionally, the Appeal Court imposed a cost of ₦100,000 on the appellants.
The National Industrial Court had earlier declared the national delegates’ conference of 25th October 2023, which produced Isa Ore and his National Administrative Council, as illegal and void. Justice O. O. Oyewumi, in her judgement, found no evidence of a crisis in the union to justify invoking the “doctrine of necessity” used to establish the caretaker committee.
This ruling brings an end to the leadership dispute within the NURTW, reaffirming Tajudeen Baruwa’s mandate as the union’s president.