Minibus drivers operating along the Mowe-Ibafo-Arepo areas of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway are at daggers drawn with the executive of the transport union over an increase in levies they are required to pay.
This is as the drivers protested the multiple levies imposed on them by transport union workers, otherwise known as agberos.
PUNCH Metro correspondent, who monitored the protest on Monday, was told by the drivers that they were subjected to arbitrary fees, which had caused them significant hardship.
The drivers, mostly minibus operators, lamented that the transport union fare, previously a cumulative sum of N4,000 per day, had been increased to about N6,000 on Monday.
They carried placards with inscriptions such as, “We are tired of extortion”, “Governor Abiodun, come to our aid”, and “Agberos are extorting us”, among others.
The drivers stressed that the increase in fuel prices and the cost of vehicle parts had compounded the challenges they were facing.
Speaking with our correspondent, a driver, Daniel Ademoyegun, said the extortion from the agberos had become unbearable, forcing them to protest.
He explained that the current economic situation had forced his children out of school due to the decline in his income as a driver.
In his words, “What we are facing from the agberos has become unbearable. Today, we woke up to the news that the ticket fee had been increased. Bus stops where we paid N100 have been increased to N200, and where we paid N500 has been increased to N700.
“I spend not less than N100,000 on fuel every week, and passengers are also groaning and are not willing to pay to match the cost of fuel. My children are at home because I cannot afford the fees due to the decline in what I earn daily.”
Another driver, Benjamin Joseph, urged the state government to come to the aid of the drivers by prevailing on the union executive to stop the multiple levies imposed on them.
“We are facing a lot from the agberos, who offer no benefits to the drivers. If you don’t pay them, they’re ready to damage your vehicle.
“We are appealing to Governor Dapo Abiodun to intervene so that this extortion can stop,” Joseph said.
Also speaking, Moses Prosper noted that the drivers’ demands included reversing the ticket fee increase and adopting a unified ticket system to curb the multiple tickets issued by the transport union.
As he put it, “What we want the government to do is to prevail on these union workers to reverse the increase and provide a unified ticket that will cover our operations along the stretch of the road.
“We shouldn’t have to pay at every bus stop within the same local government. It is absurd that we pay N200 for a marker, which adds no benefit to us.
“The monies we are paying to these agberos are not justifiable. They even extort the government by dividing one ticket, which has N200 written on it, into four parts and selling it to four drivers.”
When contacted, the Ogun State Secretary of the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria, Tiwalade Akingbade, dismissed the drivers’ allegations as untrue.
He stressed that the union and the drivers had a misunderstanding earlier on Monday, which was resolved at the police station.
“The issue is not a matter of levies duplication but a misunderstanding of what is expected to be paid. They even went to the police earlier, and the issue has been amicably resolved, and the drivers have all returned to work.
“We are also affected by the challenges in the country because we are bus owners too, and our maintenance costs have skyrocketed. However, our drivers continue to pay the same amount for delivery. So, there is no way we would propose or support any fee hike.”
Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of the state Commissioner for Transportation, Gbenga Dairo, proved abortive, as he did not respond to calls made to his line by the time of filing this report.
