I am committed to the welfare and unity of the association says PEDPAN president

The President, Professional E-Hailing Drivers and Private-Owners Association of Nigeri (PEDPAN) Comrade Idris Shonuga on Tuesday reiterates his commitment in ensuring improved welfare of members and unity of the association.

Shonuga made the promise in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos.

He said that he would be working with members as a team spirited style as all intellectually minded members are carried along in all process delivery and to take the association to an enviable height.

"I have always projected the association in good light from inception of this great union. 

"In my capacity as the National president,  i supervised the creation of PEDPAN website to enable association activities to reach out to international bodies. 

"Anytime I have presentation with other counterpart Union across the globe ,I received thousand accolades for my contribution and many borrowed ideas from my contributions.

"I have  projected the union into the limelight as well as getting PEDPAN Affiliated With Trade Union Congress of Nigeria(TUC) as a National Union," Shonuga said.

According to him, some members of the association has been going around  diseminating false information with unfounded allegations that I have mismanaged the association fund, used the association for my personal interest, lack of preparing budget for approval.

They added lack of presentation of annual financial reports, suspension of NEC member, inauguration of PEDPAN state branches without the knowledge of NEC, presentation of new unapproved constitution, intention to perpetuate self in power, projecting negetive perception to international interest body among other allegations

"It is imperative at this stage for me to clear air on the allegations some unscrupulous and misguided elements of people are leveling against my office and my person.

'First of all, the association has not appoint, select or nominated any member for the NEC.

"Majority of PEDPA self acclaimed exco today are working and operating  in Lagos state with representation across states of the federation.

"Apparently NEC should be composed of; president, vice president, National secretary, Assistant National secretary, Zonal coordinators, Zonal secretaries, National treasurer, Financial secretary, Public relations officer, All states chairmen and secretaries and the National trustees," he said.

However, the self acclaimed NEC officers are all from Lagos state and also chairmen in their various local governments. 

He noted that they have not been able to bring a state structure based on the responsibility given to them as a claim that they are NEC members, especially the regional coordinators.

However, he said they do not fit into those positions due to  inconveniences surrounding their responsibilities to go to another state to coordinate new members. 

According to him, these set of people are conventional taxi drivers who run their taxi business in the state, hence, the union cannot have all NEC officers from Lagos. 

According to him, other E-hailing drivers who are willing to join PEDPAN in their various states should have their representatives. 'I made my position very clear to them, which made me  become their enemy".

Shonuga stress that those set of people are also power mongers who will not let go of those positions even when it so obvious that it was not possible for union to run in such a poor manners which means that the union doesn't have a working NEC at the moment. 

As said earlier, the association doesn't have a working NEC which has made it impossible use it to opened an account without the permission of 'Board of Trustee details.

 

Moreover, as at when the association account was opened in 2019 there was nothing like the proposed NEC or certificate of incorporation, except with our UBA account  that was opened in 2020 with permission of the trustees. 

According to the president, the only newly opened account is the Polaris Bank that will give loan to our members with 20% equity contributions for LagosRide.

"It is therefore imperative for the union to have a mother account in such a bank before any transactions of magnitude can take effect.  

"This is very clear as  we are all aware of Nigerian banking policies and only incorporated trustees can make such representation as we don't have official NEC officials.

"The trustees are the official signatories to Polaris mother account and all approvals were  expressly gotten before such account was open," he said.

Shonuga said that the association is still at the formation stages, there is no cash in our bank, because our members were not paying dues now except some few who paid some mandated dues based on prospect the association brought forward.

Moreover, I run around to raise money for association projects right from Inception as most members are not financially up to date in dues ,levies and fines payment and promised to publish the union financial report before her legible members.

He noted that due to the non availability of working NEC,  most of the " supposed" members are not officially registered as they do not have registration forms.

He added that PEDPAN was still at a formation stage, inauguration is mainly to be done by the president and the Secretariat. 

"When the union has a working NEC, the inauguration of states or local governments can only be reported to the NEC during the meeting which is held twice in a year except on emergencies.

"I am the chief consultant for the association also doubling as the founder and National President.

"i have the right to ensure legally constituted coordination of recognised members in all the states where E-hailing transportation services are operational.

"These acclaimed PEDPAN, NEC are really a power drunk. 

"It is the responsibility of the National President to ensure that associations have coordinators in every state where E-hailing transportation services are  in operation.

"It is the office of the National President  that has the power to approve the appointment of state coordinators.

"We only have 1 state inaugurated out of 21 states that E-hailing transportation are in operation. 

"Chairmen and States Secretary are automatic members of the NEC," Shonuga said   

According to him,  the union has a constitution, where certified pioneers investment incentives was coined in, when we approach federal ministry of labour and employment to register PEDPAN as a trade Union,the old constitution was rejected , a new constitution was developed by consultant introduced to us TUC.

He said that the constitution was reviewed by a labour lawyer and members in two different Excos' meeting where signatures of all Excos in attendant was taking to seek their approval before we  submitted PEDPAN application to federal ministry of labour and employment with evidence to back my claim. 

"Back in days of old school bar in surulere, where PEDPAN conversation started from, everyone  addresses me as comrade Idris, due to my achievements on how far I have  projected the union into the limelight as well as getting PEDPAN affiliated with TUC as a National Union.

"Everybody addresses me as president, jolaiya ,Kola, Sam Orji ,Azeez Jaiyesinmi and many more calls me 'my presi', at the general meeting, everyone in attendance moved a motion for me to be the National president of PEDPAN.

"There is no doubt that there is no unity in the E-hailing industry, but PEDPA excos  always felt threatened that their position will be at stake if other E-hailing driver's union joined the association.

He said that they personally sabotaged all efforts, especially when one of them was making a move to reconcile all stakeholders, they vehemently opposed the motion that often supported collaboration with other E-hailing groups. 

"In the past , I single handedly  brought every group admins in one group to form unity and my track records speaks for me," Shonuga said.

He said in moving forward the association under his leadership would identified and  address the negative complaints as done in the past and still doing by responding to  many distress calls from members that often attended to and their problems solved.

According to him, some members advocated for parties to sign a Memorandum  of Understanding (MOU), a consensus by the two parties unfortunately the agreement does not have any of my impute or contribution.

"The lopsided MOU is not only prepared to hijack PEDPA but to destroy it.

 

"That I  should leave all the groups I have created for Union before most of these self acclaimed members are yet to be E-hailing Drivers and PEDPAN members.

"That I should hand all pedpa original documents to them," he said. 

"MOU nomenclature is an instrument of peace which coins the joint view of all parties favourable to all aggrieved parties but what  we have is a one sided "MOU" 

"Seeking to derogate the president to the background so they could impose unfavorable terms to innocent benefactors. 

The MOU was already invalid on arrival as it's shrouded in illegality," he said.