Uber and Bolt Drivers Threaten to Picket Lagos Offices

The silence from Uber, Bolt, and InDrive is starting to cost them. As the three-day driver strike in Lagos entered its final day on Wednesday, frustrated drivers made clear they are not going quietly — and the next step could be a very public one.

Leaders of the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON) have warned that if the platforms continue to ignore their demands, drivers will take the fight directly to their offices. AUATON Vice President for the South West, Mr. Aina Kolawole, was blunt about what comes next.

“The next step is to picket their offices and disrupt their operations. We will use every legal means to make sure they listen to us,” he said.

Kolawole also shed light on how the union arrived at this point. Letters were sent. Replies came in. But nothing followed.

“Before now, we have written series of letters to all of them — Uber, Bolt, and InDrive. They acknowledged our letters, but that was where it ended,” he said.

The Platforms Stay Silent and Drivers Feel It

As of Wednesday, none of the three companies had issued a formal public response to the strike or the drivers’ 10-point list of demands. Uber, headquartered in California, did eventually provide a brief comment — though it stopped well short of addressing the core issue of fare increases.

“Drivers are at the heart of our business, and we remain committed to engaging constructively with them through regular roundtable discussions. Uber operates an incredibly large and dynamic marketplace, but it only works when it works for all users — riders and drivers. Aligning our joint interests is a fundamental principle in how we run our platform,” an Uber spokesperson said.

Inside sources from two of the affected platforms — speaking anonymously — explained that decisions of this nature cannot be made locally. Both Bolt, an Estonian company, and Uber, based in California, would need sign-off from their global headquarters before any fare-related commitment could be made. That, sources say, is the real reason drivers’ letters went unanswered.

Meanwhile, Comrade Jaiyesimi Azeez, Chairman of AUATON’s Lagos chapter, pushed back against what he called a deliberate misrepresentation of drivers’ earnings.

“Majority of us are Masters’ holders, but because of the situation of the country, we are using this opportunity to make sure we are not doing anything fraudulent. But we can’t be doing this without any dignity. These people will tell the public that we are making ₦200,000 per day, which is far from the reality. A lot of us cannot even fuel our car,” he said.

A 70% Shutdown and Counting

Despite the difficulties of enforcing a strike in an open, app-based industry, AUATON says compliance has been stronger than expected. Strike monitoring teams were deployed at key locations across Lagos, including major commercial areas and Murtala Muhammed International Airport, where ride-hailing demand is typically highest.

Kolawole put the compliance figure at between 70 and 75 per cent — a number he admitted is about as high as can be realistically expected.

“Our business is an open business; it is almost impossible to get 100% compliance. But I can tell you that we have achieved 70 to 75% compliance,” he said.

Notably, the union has deliberately avoided heavy-handed enforcement. Many of these drivers, Kolawole acknowledged, live on daily income and cannot afford to lose three full days of earnings. Still, the union insists that sacrifice is necessary to force a change.

Similar tensions have been building in other African cities. In Nairobi, Uber and Bolt drivers have also repeatedly protested declining fares and high platform commissions over the past several years — suggesting this is not just a Lagos problem, but a continent-wide reckoning with the gig economy model.

For now, AUATON says it remains open to dialogue. But if the companies and the Lagos State Government do not engage driver representatives soon, the next disruption may not be on the apps — it may be right outside their front doors.