Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Musiliu Akinsanya, says no member of the association has tested positive for COVID-19.
Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, made the statement Friday on a Public Eye Instagram Live interview with Funmi Iyanda.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has so far confirmed 5,445 COVID-19 infections across the country.
“None of our members has coronavirus,” Akinsanya said while admitting that the economic and social impact of the pandemic “has been hard on us.”
According to him, the union has put measures in place at parks to reduce the exposure of drivers, conductors, passengers and others to the virus.
“Coronavirus does not know the rich or poor. We have told our members that everybody entering motor parks must wear face masks. There must also be soap and water.
“All parks in Lagos have monitoring units that ensure compliance. We also have a task force that monitors activities across the state.”
He, however, admitted that some errant drivers pick more than the number of passengers recommended by the Lagos State Government to curb the spread of coronavirus.
As part of efforts to reduce the economic impact of COVID-19 lockdown, he said the union reduced the ticket fee paid by transporters so they don’t transfer the loss of income to the passengers.
“We also suspended payment of loans by drivers who acquired buses from us during the lockdown. Even I went out to monitor what is going on during lockdown to help drivers.
“Government supports us in Lagos because they don’t want people to go hungry. What we get from the government is food, not money.”
The NURTW, he said, is creating a digital database to reduce incidents of crime linked to the association.
“We are trying to create a database so if something illegal happens somewhere we will know the name and address of the person and the license number so we can trace the person.
“For now, if people see drivers and conductors engaging in illegal activities, they should report through numbers we have made available to the public.
“Even in places where people have increased the price of transportation, they should call and let the task force know,” he added.
