Osesua Remains Our National Chairman, Factional PTD Tells NUPENG

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The National leadership of Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) yesterday insisted that the alleged plot to remove Lucky Osesua and Yusuf Garga as chairman and deputy chairman of the organisation would fail.
Specifically, it said the plan by the group collectively led by Augustine Egbon, Afolabi Olawale, Williams Akporeha and Salimon Oladiti remained “an enterprise in futility.”

The factional National Chairman, Osesua and the National Secretary, Humble Power of the PTD branch in a jointly signed statement, advised the NUPENG leadership to stop chasing shadows and concentrate on letting lasting peace reign in the union.

They said that parading Egbon as the national chairman of PTD was an affront on the side of the law and other constitutional guidelines known by the union.
The duo also added that Gambo Tuge, who is a respected leader in PTD, remained law abiding and not a fugitive of the law and could not be labelled with unprintable names simply because he was protecting the interest of the union through legitimate and decent means recognised by the law as well as International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions guiding trade unionism.

They  also said that the election conducted in Abuja on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, by the branch was the one recognised by law.
The Abuja election, they said, subsequently produced Osesua, Garga, Obinna, Akinlolu and other executives. They  equally stressed that those calling for fresh election had not breached any law, nor had they committed any crime.
PTD also condemned the use of police and other coercive forces to bully them into silence while also maintaining that police cannot be cajoled to fall for their antics.

“Our attention has again been drawn to a misleading report populated in the media by elements who are against the progress and success of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) as well as petroleum tanker drivers branch of the union.
“They cannot foist on the rest of us Egbon as the national chairman; it is not only illegal but also totally disgraceful to what trade unionism stands for and the rule of law. Moreover, the union is bigger than anyone. The ILO conventions and other extant rules and ethics are very clear about this,” the PTD stated
The factional PTD stated that the previous police invitation of its national executives was the height of the NUPENG’s leadership’s desperation to force Osesua out of office.

“This has also failed,  because police as a law-abiding federal security agent, now know the truth. Extrapolating a police invitation of anyone, despite their status, is itself an invitation to lawlessness and anarchy, which permeated the long but ineffective rule of Afolabi and his ilk in NUPENG.

“Police cannot be cajoled to fall for their vicious antics by intimidating, victimising, oppressing and frustrating us,” the PTD added.
It therefore urged all members of the PTD across the four zones to remain law abiding while  assuring them of victory which it said is near.

“We would not rest on our oars, but will remain resolute to grant freedom and dignity to them all in the nick of time.

“We further use this medium to call on all law enforcement agents in the country, including police and Department of State Service (DSS) to give closer look at NUPENG and ensure that sanity is restored,” the group stressed.