A group of aggrieved members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) under the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) branch, on Thursday organised a parallel election amidst the ongoing leadership dispute within the union.
The election which was held in Abuja witnessed a significant turnout of drivers who were dissatisfied by the turnout of the recent election held in Lagos, which brought the current leadership of PTD to power.
Acting National Chairman of the suspended and aggrieved members, Comrade Lucky Osesua who addressed newsmen after a delegates conference, maintained that the group was committed to justice, fairness, and adherence to court rulings.
Osesua maintained that the National Industrial Court’s judgment on May 29, 2024 which mandated a fresh, inclusive, and non-discriminatory election process must be respected.
While condemning alleged biases and unfair practices by NUPENG, whom the drivers accused of favouring a rival faction,.Osesua called for an 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 it was speedily 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.
“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.”
The group’s First Deputy National Chairman, Comrade Dayyabu Garga, stressed the importance of conducting elections in line with court directives and union by-laws, to allow for transparency and inclusivity.
“The recent events in Lagos, where an unauthorised delegate’s conference was held, do not reflect the true spirit of our union.”
