A large number of travellers in Ibadan were left stranded on Saturday after major bus terminals across Oyo State were shut down due to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention taking place in the city.
The two-day convention, already embroiled in legal disputes after two separate court rulings attempted to halt it, proceeded under the Umar Damagum-led faction, which relied on a counter-judgment from an Oyo State High Court permitting the event to go ahead.
When DAILY GAZETTE visited major inter-state transport hubs such as Iwo Road, Challenge, and Ojoo, all the terminals were locked, preventing weekend passengers from making trips to destinations like Osun, Kwara, and Niger states.
Saturdays are typically the busiest travel days, but the facilities remained inaccessible.
Transport operators told the newspaper that the closure likely originated from the leadership of the Park Management System (PMS), which Governor Seyi Makinde established following a leadership crisis in the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
The NURTW is currently fighting to regain authority over the parks.
At Iwo Road, terminal workers and drivers could be seen wearing caps with “PDP convention” printed on them. Frustration was high among motorists who depend on daily income.
Kazeem, a commercial driver, expressed anger:
“So because politicians want to gather and talk, the whole city must suffer? What about those of us who survive on daily work?”
Another driver at the Ojoo terminal, Muri, said the managers closed the parks of their own accord to show support for the governor as host of the PDP convention.
