Lagos The – National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Thursday advised media practitioners in the country to stop associating his members with thugs.

Mr Tajudeen Agbede,The Chairman of Lagos Council of NURTW, made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He denied that some miscreants who fought openly in Egbeda on Wednesday were his members.

Agbede spoke against the backdrop of a newspaper report that a clash that broke out on Jezza and Adaranijo Streets in Egbeda, Lagos, on Wednesday was caused by motor park union officials and some thugs.

According to him, the clash involved some miscreants in the neighbourhood who were collecting money from motorists for their annual carnival.

“We want to plead with journalists to investigate matters well before reporting them, our members are peace-loving and we don’t fight again.

“The area boys on the streets were collecting money for their carnival and this was exactly what resulted into a clash among them.

“One of them, who is one of our park agents, was only doing his street assignment, he was not on official duty at all, ” the chairman said.

Agbede said that the union members had been warned against violence of any kind and that his members were responsible.

“We are responsible members of the society, people should stop seeing us as thugs, ” he said.

NAN recalled that the report said that the cause of the clash was over the dues collected from motorists and motorcyclists in the area.

– NAN