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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
In a dramatic turn of events on Thursday, a group of aggrieved members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) organised a parallel election amidst an ongoing leadership dispute within the association.
The election, held at in Abuja saw a significant turnout of peeved drivers who are dissatisfied by the recent election in Lagos which brought the current leadership of PTD to power.
Addressing the media after their delegates conference, Lucky Osesua, the National Chairman of the suspended and aggrieved members of the association, emphasised the group’s commitment to justice, fairness, and adherence to court rulings. Osesua highlighted the pivotal role of the National Industrial Court’s judgment on May 29, 2024, which mandated a fresh, inclusive, and non-discriminatory election process. The decision, according to Osesua, was a victory for the rule of law and the sanctity of democratic processes within the union, which he insisted must be respected. The group leader condemned alleged biases and unfair practices by NUPENG, whom the drivers accused of favouring a rival faction.
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He further called for impartial oversight from governmental bodies such as the Federal Ministry of Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Nigeria Labour Con (NLC), and the Judiciary to wade into the matter and ensure that the crises is resolved. He sad: “We condemn and frown at the kangaroo election and delegate’s conference held in Lagos, which is the stronghold of the acclaimed “godfather” and those who claim to own PTD. We are categorically stating that the election and delegate’s conference should follow PTD tradition. That the delegates conference be organised in a neutral location, such as Abuja, FCT.
“Today’s meeting was to conduct our election as usual. We just finished our delegate conference. We are following the rule and regulation as directed by the court. The one they did in Lagos is not an election we do not recognise it.
We followed all the laid down rules in this one. We have elected all the positions.” “We have instructed and our lawyers have written several protest letters toNUPENG, security agencies such as the Nigeria Police, DSS, Office of the National Security Adviser, and others to register the grievances of PTD members. Now, they went ahead and conducted a Kangaroo-arranged delegate conference or election without doing the right thing; and we are back to the court until victory is completely achieved. We are fully with the disenfranchised PTD members. Let us all come together and salvage the soul of PTD.
This will enable us to make the lives of our members worth living.” He therefore, appealed to members to be calm and loyal, law-abiding, and go about their daily business without fear of harassment or intimidation from anyone. “This is a time for the PTD members to come together to improve their welfare and also focus on the primary objectives of the union, which are the delivery of petroleum products to all the states and locations within the Federation. We appeal to you not to fail for the unrealistic promises of the opposition. It is important to say that if we did not challenge the rascalities, those unrealistic promises would not be made,” Osesua added. On his part, the group’s First Deputy National Chairman, Comrade Dayyabu Garga, stated that, “The recent events in Lagos, where an unauthorised delegate’s conference was held, do not reflect the true spirit of our union,” He stressed the importance of conducting elections in line with court directives and union by-laws, underscoring the need for transparency and inclusivity.
