The National Industrial Court in Port Harcourt, presided over by Hon. Justice Faustina Kola-Olalere, ruled in favor of the proper merger of the Rumuokoro Roundabout and the 1st & 2nd Artillery Junction/Rumuodara Minibus Branches, confirming the action as consistent with the National Union of Road Transport Workers’ (NURTW) constitution. This declaration was made on July 7, 2021.

The case arose when the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Rivers State attempted to reverse the merger with a Notice of Demerger on July 29, 2021. The Court found that this demerger was not supported by the Union’s constitution, specifically Article 17 (2), which governs the merger and dissolution processes within the Union.

In response to the attempted demerger, Justice Kola-Olalere issued an injunction to prevent the Union and three other defendants from separating the branches, effectively preserving the merged structure as per the original July 7, 2021 merger.

The claimant, Comrade Egbezor, acting on behalf of the merged branches, argued that the merger was carried out legally following a notification letter from the NURTW on July 7, 2021, and that they had proceeded with the merger in good faith, following the Union’s constitution.

However, the NURTW defendants defended the demerger by claiming that the State Executive Council did not obtain written approval from the National Body before executing the merger, rendering it unconstitutional. This argument was ultimately rejected by the Court.

Justice Kola-Olalere emphasized that according to the NURTW’s constitution, the State Executive Council has the authority to merge branches, provided written approval is received from the National Administrative Council. She ruled that no fault could be found with the claimant’s actions, and it was presumed that proper procedures had been followed, in line with the Evidence Act.

Finally, the Court ordered the defendants to pay a sum of N500,000 in legal costs to the claimant, further solidifying the ruling in favor of the Rumuokoro Roundabout and 1st & 2nd Artillery Junction branches.