Appeal Court Voids MC Oluomo’s Election as NURTW President

The Appeal Court has overturned the election of MC Oluomo as the president of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), citing irregularities. The ruling ushers in a leadership vacuum for the influential transport union.

The Abuja Court of Appeal has confirmed Tajudeen Baruwa’s re-election as the National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), thereby invalidating Musiliu Akinsanya’s, also known as MC Oluomo, recent election.

As stated in court documents, the appellate court upheld the National Industrial Court’s March 11, 2024 decision from Abuja that acknowledged Baruwa’s leadership. This ruling effectively invalidates MC Oluomo’s presidency following a union election on November 9, 2024, at a conference held in Osogbo, Osun State.

The decision was issued by a panel of three justices—Hamma Akawu Barka, Nnamdi Okwy Dimgba, and Asmau Ojuolape Akanbi—who rejected the appeal and ordered the appellants to pay costs amounting to N100,000.

“The court, through Justice Barka’s reading of the judgment, declared that this appeal lacks merit and is thus dismissed.”

The court reaffirmed the National Industrial Court’s endorsement of the delegates’ conference conducted on May 24, 2023, across six zonal councils where Baruwa was re-elected for a second term as president. Additionally, it upheld the outcomes of the August 23, 2023, National Delegates Conference in Lafia, Nasarawa State, during which Baruwa and other national officers were sworn in.

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Justice O. O. Oyewumi of the National Industrial Court previously ruled that both the national delegates’ conference on October 25, 2023, which appointed Isa Ore as acting president, and the following election conducted by Ore on November 9, 2024, were invalid.

The judgment stated that there was no proof of a leadership crisis within the union to warrant applying the “doctrine of necessity,” which resulted in former president Najeem Yasin establishing a caretaker committee.

Oyewumi also restricted Yasin, the former president and chairman of the union’s Board of Trustees, from interfering in daily operations. His involvement was limited to board-related issues only.

“The judge ruled that the National Delegates Conference held on October 25, 2023, is invalid and therefore nullified.”

The decision by the Appeal Court has solidified Baruwa’s status as the rightful leader of the NURTW, nullifying all actions undertaken by Isa Ore’s caretaker committee and rendering void the election that installed MC Oluomo.