Tanker drivers begin nationwide protest, threaten to withdraw from NUPENG

The current turmoil within the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has escalated with the initiation of a nationwide protest by the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD).

The drivers are expressing their discontent and have issued a warning to part ways with NUPENG unless the National President, Williams Akporeha, and the General
Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, step down from their positions.

Drivers allege Akporegha lacks legitimacy to lead NUPENG

These sentiments were conveyed through a press release jointly issued in Abuja on Sunday by Comrade Gbenga Olawale and Comrade Adekunle Rufai, both members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers.

According to The Nation, the tanker drivers argue that Akporeha lacks the competence to lead the union as he is allegedly not a NUPENG member.

According to the protestors, this deviates from the NUPENG Constitution, as Akporeha was neither a worker nor a pump attendant at the time of his candidacy verification for the president position.

Consequently, they assert that Williams lacks the qualifications to be the president of NUPENG.

Furthermore, they allege that he has strategically positioned his associates to appropriate all union revenue for personal gain.

It is worth noting that the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had directed the detention of Lucky Osesua, the former national chairman of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch of NUPENG, along with the former deputy national chairman, Dayyabu Yusuf Garga, and 11 other individuals in Kuje prison.

This order stems from allegations of assaulting Olawale, Akporeha, and several others.

Nationwide protest may affect fuel supply

The drivers did not specify in their statement whether their demonstration would impact the lifting and supply of petroleum products.

The recent arrest and legal proceedings against the preferred leadership, Osesua and Garga, could potentially catalyze the initiation of a strike. Should the drivers opt not to load and supply petrol, it could escalate into a heightened fuel scarcity situation in the country.