MAJOR VICTORY FOR LARUTI OPERATORS

LAGOS STATE GOVT. FORCED TO PAY BACK OPERATORS MONEY

The tricycle operators popularly known as Lagos State Rural Transport Initiative (LARUTI) recorded a major victory on May 2010 after 10 months of struggle against the Lagos State government.

The Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) led these poor tricycle operators to get back their money (N100,000) deposited with the Lagos State Ministry of Rural Development for type A tricycles that never worked right from the very day they were issued. The tricycles were issued to the operators on June 2, 2009.

All appeals to get the officials of the ministry to either give them functional tricycles or pay back the deposits including several meetings were rebuffed. The Lagos State officials had all along held the position that even if their money would be refunded, it would only be a part. A public protest of 11 of the affected operators led by CDWR officials on March 30, 2010 and other forms of agitations forced the Lagos State Government to pay back N100, 000 to each of them

This victory shows that it pays to struggle in an organized way for one’s rights. It is definitely the only option left for the mass of working people and poor if they must get out of this socio-economic and political crisis.