TOAN appoints Istijabah Lagos chairman, seeks unity among tricycle operators
By Trek Africa Newspaper
Lagos, Oct. 25, 2026 (NAN) The Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN) has appointed Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Abiola, popularly known as Istijabah, as its interim Lagos State Chairman for six months to promote unity and harmonise operations in the tricycle transport sector.
The appointment was announced in a statement signed by TOAN’s National President, Comrade Augustine Agbo-Akpe, and National Secretary, Comrade Christiana Adebayo, and addressed to the Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), in Lagos, on Monday.
Speaking on the development, Agbo-Akpe said the appointment was part of efforts to restore peace, strengthen the association’s structure and prepare the ground for an election.
He urged existing officials and members not to view the leadership change as a threat to their positions, stressing that the reorganisation was intended to foster unity rather than displace them.
“I am here to let the whole world know and hear from the horse’s mouth. Whatever you heard from the state chairman is true. You don’t have to fear about losing your job,” he said.
Agbo-Akpe said the national leadership had entrusted Abiola with the responsibility of coordinating the association’s activities pending the conduct of an election.
“This is not a sellout. We want to reduce the number of associations.
“We trusted somebody to be the leader until we begin to organise an election,” he said.
He congratulated Abiola on his appointment and called on members to cooperate with him in harmonising the association’s activities across Lagos State.
In his acceptance speech, Abiola described the appointment as an opportunity to serve and pledged to promote stability, unity and effective coordination within the association.
He assured zonal and branch chairmen that the reorganisation was not designed to remove them from office but to strengthen the association’s operational structure.
“My duty is to reorganise and not to dismiss. Don’t fight with anybody. Don’t cause chaos or mayhem in the parks.
“If there is any issue, come to me. My door is open,” he said.
Abiola emphasised that the association belonged to all its members, adding that leadership should be viewed as a responsibility to serve rather than an avenue for personal control.
“The union does not belong to me. It is our collective property. We are here to serve, and we will surely leave the stage one day,” he said.
He urged members to support the interim leadership and avoid actions capable of disrupting activities in motor parks, as efforts to reorganise the association begin.
Earlier, the Lagos State Chairman of NURTW, Comrade Mustapha Adekunle Sego, said the union had received a letter from TOAN’s national leadership formally introducing Abiola as the state chairman for a six-month period.
Sego said Abiola’s responsibility would be to coordinate the association’s affairs during the interim period and facilitate the reorganisation process.
He said NURTW and TOAN as closely aligned organisations, adding that the resolution of differences between the organisations had created an opportunity to establish a more unified structure for tricycle operators in Lagos.
The development is expected to support efforts to streamline representation and promote greater cooperation among tricycle operators across the state.
