NUPENG President Insists No Faction in Petrol Tanker Drivers’ Union

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The National President of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers ( NUPENG) Williams Akporeha, has said there’s no faction in the national leadership of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the organisation.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja shortly after the Augustine Egbon-led executive of the union assumed office, he stated that the antics of certain persons who wanted to hijack the union had failed.

“On the issue of whether there is a faction in the PTD branch of our union, the fact that you weren’t part of an election process or just because you refused to contest and then go and declare yourself a winner elsewhere doesn’t mean that there is faction.
“And we have seen their kind of character in the way they attacked the new national officers of the branch last week.
“If not for the grace of God, some of us would not have been here today, but God saved us from their hands and they will face the wrath of the law for the criminal act they perpetrated.

“That was not about election, that was not about trade unionism. It was about criminality. So, I want to say here that as far as NUPENG is concerned, there is one PTD branch and the leadership of Egbon is the one recognised.
“I want to use this opportunity to implore Nigerians to ignore any criminal going parading himself as national chairman of PTD or saying he is a member of NUPENG or PTD branch leadership.

“We don’t know such kind of persons and we urge  stakeholders and Nigerians to cooperate with this team  which we know as the legitimate executive of the PTD,” he said.
Earlier while addressing newsmen, the new National Chairman of the Branch, Egbon, also corroborated the NUPENG president on the processes that led to his emergence as national chairman of the branch.

“The elections that brought my colleagues and I to this position was carried out October 31, 2023 at the University of Ibadan Conference Centre, Ibadan in accordance with the constitution of NUPENG and bye laws of our great branch as approved by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union,” he stressed.
At the end of the   elections, Egbon who is from Benin unit of the Warri Zonal Council of the union said he was duly returned elected as the national chairman of the union in accordance with the extant rules.

“Today, and I want to assure all our members across the country, critical stakeholders and the general public that there is no division at all in our union and the branch. Our solidarity remains constant because we know that workers united can never be defeated,” he stated.
General Secretary of NUPENG, Wale Afolabi also disclosed that the displaced executive was aware of the resolution to conduct fresh election in accordance with the verdict of Justice Bashir Alkali.

He recalled that the National Executive Committee of the Union invited the former branch  leadership to a meeting where it was briefed on its resolution to conduct a fresh election in accordance with the outcome of the court judgement and a five-member caretaker committee was put in place after the dissolution of the executive to pave way for a fresh election.

“On July 26, an emergency NEC meeting of the union was convened on the judgement. We invited all members of the former branch administrative council whose election were nullified to a meeting to brief them on the judgement.
“NEC decision was to accept the judgement, the dissolution and the names of the caretaker/ election organising committee to oversee the affairs of the branch and organise the elections.

“Similarly, on September 20,  in Asaba, the meeting the PTD of the union was called by the caretaker committee to brief the council on the affairs of the branch, take reports from the units and zones, take decisions on election date, venue and  the election guidelines from the national secretariat. Guidelines were adopted and released with nomination forms,” he added.