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…Rule out strike, seceding from NUPENG
From Uche Usim, Abuja
For the umpteenth time, petroleum tanker drivers have ruled out embarking on strike or seceding from their parent body, the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), saying it was tantamount to sabotaging the Tinubu administration and further stifling the polity with petroleum products scarcity.
They described reports stating otherwise as fake news and mischief makers’ failed attempt to overheat the system.
The assurance came from the former National Chairmen of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch (PTD) of NUPENG, who paid a solidarity visit to the incumbent National Chairman, Augustine Egbon at the PTD-NUPENG National secretariat in Abuja on Friday.
Egbon and other new national officers emerged as leaders at the Special Delegates Conference for the PTD Branch of NUPENG held in Ibadan, Oyo State last October.
Speaking at the visit, John Ossai, a former PTD Chairman, while affirming the support of the former national chairmen, maintained that NUPENG would continue to play its leadership position in the affairs of the PTD Branch.
He also appealed to the Unit Chairmen to sustain the cooperation with the national leadership under Comrade Egbon.
He said:” We are proud of the election that our mother union, NUPENG handled, which produced the new leadership.
“We have to pay a courtesy call on our new national chairman.
I want to use this opportunity to call on all the branch units of PTD nationwide to pledge their loyalty to the new leadership.
“The fight by those calling themselves factions is uncalled for and driven by self interest. We won’t accept it. NUPENG and PTD are one.
“Today, the Union is more refined. The PTD won’t break away from NUPENG for any reason. I am appealing to all the members to be law abiding and be loyal to their national chairman and NUPENG. That’s the flag we have been flying, he said”
In his remarks, Tijani Zubair, who was also part of the delegation, described the new national chairman as a bridge builder and peacemaker whose leadership would address the demands of the Union for better welfare for tanker drivers and good roads for haulage of petroleum products.
He warned against the call for strike by the aggrieved group who claimed to be a faction as he noted that any strike action would amount to a deliberate plot to sabotage the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
He said: “We are here to pay a solidarity visit to Comrade Egbon. He is an honest chairman who worked with me while I was a national chairman. He is a peacemaker. I am sure he will solve many of the problems we are facing like bad federal roads and a good welfare package for tanker drivers.
“My appeal to those who aren’t happy with the election, they should forgive and forget. They should give peace a chance, we are one family. They should give support to the new leadership.
In his remarks, the new National Chairman of PTD-NUPENG, Egbon thanked the former national chairmen for the visit.
He assured them that his leadership would continue to cement the existing relationship with NUPENG and avoid any action that could threaten the peace in the downstream sector of the oil industry.
He said:” Today is a day that I can say I am very happy because I can feel the support of our ex -national chairmen of this union. These are the people we served. They were there in Ibadan when we held our election.
“This shows that all the past national chairmen of PTD are with us. Without NUPENG, PTD can’t stand. We aren’t going back, in our support, no matter what. NUPENG is our father. For me, I will follow the footsteps of our past leaders. We are going to work together.
“We also pledge our total support to the Bola Tinubu government. We won’t allow any group to sabotage this government under the guise of being members of PTD- NUPENG.
“We will not sabotage this government, anybody that calls for strike in PTD or NUPENG illegally, we will hand them over to law enforcement agencies.
“We will never support any illegality”, he said.
Other former national chairmen who pledged loyalty to the new chairman include; Mudashiru Azeez, Timothy Ogbu and Salmon Akanni Oladiti.
