E-hailing drivers, under the umbrella of the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria, in Lagos State, have called on the state government to stop harassing its members, News About Nigeria reports.
The spokesperson for the Union, Jossy Adaraniwon, made this call while speaking to newsmen on Sunday.
He noted that the Union will embark on a strike from Monday, if the harassment by the State Ministry of Transportation (MOT), persists till Monday.
There have been an impasse of data-sharing agreement between the state government and Uber Technologies System Nigeria Limited.
Recall that the state government had warned the ride-sharing company to comply with the agreement bordering on the integration of the application programme interface, otherwise known as API, to enable real-time data sharing for government monitoring and accountability during active trips.
However, Uber maintained that it had been sharing its data with the government through a secure and automated platform but was unclear about the requirements for real-time data sharing.
They lamented that the state’s Ministry of Transportation’s enforcement team had started impounding the vehicles of its members operating on the Uber app, noting that they make bait requests on the app and seize the vehicle once the drivers arrive.
“How can a government say Uber doesn’t have an office it couldn’t trace the company to? And because of that, they started to impound the vehicles of our drivers.
“We have told them that if this persists till Monday, March 25, we will mobilise our members to protest at the governor’s office.
“We have asked them to stop with immediate effect from impounding our members’ cars, but what the MOT is saying is that the directive is from the Lagos State government itself that we should approach the governor,” Adaraniwon stated.
He further stated that the action was not giving the government a good image, and called on the state governor to intervene by calling the transport ministry to order.
