KEY POINTS
- Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) have rejected NUPENG’s planned strike against Dangote Refinery, urging drivers to continue work.
- PTD accused NUPENG leadership of corruption, intimidation, and reckless behavior that could destabilize Nigeria’s economy.
- The group called on security agencies to arrest NUPENG leaders and prevent a nationwide fuel supply crisis.
The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), a critical arm of the sector, have openly rejected a strike call issued by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, sparking confusion and fears of potential fuel shortages.
In a statement signed by four zonal leaders—Tajudeen Abubakar (Kaduna), Blessing Dafinone (Warri), Joseph Dagogo-Jack (Port Harcourt), and Kolade Fadahunsi-Ojelabi (Lagos)—the PTD urged drivers across the country to ignore NUPENG’s directive to down tools from Monday, September 8.
Instead, the group called for the arrest of NUPENG leaders, accusing them of reckless behavior that could destabilize the nation’s already fragile economy.
NUPENG had earlier threatened to embark on an industrial action, citing alleged anti-labour practices at Dangote Refinery.
The union claims that the refinery’s plan to deploy 4,000 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered trucks for direct fuel distribution amounts to anti-union activity and a potential monopoly.
Drivers Push Back Against Union Leadership
The PTD, however, dismissed those claims as “callous, insensitive, and unacceptable”. According to the tanker drivers, NUPENG failed to exhaust dialogue or negotiation before announcing the strike, choosing instead to pursue what they described as selfish and politically motivated goals.
The statement accused NUPENG executives—President Williams Akporeha and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale—of running the union into disrepute.
PTD leaders alleged that union members were subjected to intimidation, bullying, and neglect, while top officials enriched themselves from levies and dues without improving the welfare of drivers.
“They sit in offices and collect billions, yet most tanker drivers take home less than ₦50,000 monthly, and some are even owed wages,” the statement read. “When training opportunities arise, it is always the national executives who attend, never the actual drivers who operate these dangerous vehicles.”
The PTD further accused NUPENG of hypocrisy, pointing out that while it accuses Dangote and his ally, Sayyu Idris Dantata of MRS, of monopolistic tendencies, the union has itself suppressed rival associations such as the Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP).
