Lockdown: Osun Transporters Want Govt To Provide More Relief Packages For Members

By Sodiq Yusuf

Workers in the commercial transportation
​sector of the State of Osun have charged
​the state government to provide more palliatives to the people to cushion the effects of the total lockdown imposed on the state amidst the COVID-19 global health crisis.

The transporters believed that providing more relief packages would ensure that the resultant effects of the shutdown of the state’s economy to contain the spread of the novel virus will not hamper the living conditions of the people.

Alhaji Jire Aweda, Chairman of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Osun Chapter in a chat with OSUN DEFENDER on Tuesday opined that the lockdown has taken its toll and affected in no small measure their means of livelihood.

Aweda eulogized the initiatives so far employed by the government and other relevant authorities to curtail COVID-19 spread which has continued to yield positive results.

He encouraged the people to be more concerned about their safety, stressing that the union will not increase transport fares when the lockdown is over.

Aweda also appealed to his colleagues to comply with the stay-at-home order, noting that a lasting solution will come to eradicating the pandemic the world over.

“The Lockdown has really affected us. This is because there is no means for our members to provide for our families. The relief package government gave us a few days back was the one that served as palliatives which only lasted for a limited time. We complied with government’s directive on hand washing, physical distancing and the limitation of the number of passengers we take before the total lockdown.

“We have about 48 branches with at least 100 members in each of them throughout the state. Our union does not hike fares; even during festivities, so we are not planning to do that even after the lockdown.

“We appreciate what the government is doing to curb the spread of COVID-19 because it is for the protection of our lives. The Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola has really tried in this regard. The initiatives put in place so far have forestalled an outbreak of the virus in the state.”