The Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (PTD-NUPENG) says it has no intentions to participate in the planned August 1 nationwide protest organized by some youths.
National Chairman of PTD-NUPENG, Comrade Augustine Egbon, stated on Wednesday that concerns were being addressed about some external forces attempting to infiltrate the union to support the planned protest.
Egbon’s statement came in response to an online report by Comrade Olaitan Idris, a supposed union member, who claimed that an industrial crisis was imminent following a recent special delegates’ conference in Lagos.
At this conference, Comrades Augustine Egbon and Oluchi Chinagorom were elected as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, which Idris claimed did not have the support of the majority of union members.
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Egbon however dismissed Idris’s assertions as false and baseless, emphasizing that the election in Lagos was well-represented, with delegates from all zones and 150 units of PTD-NUPENG, and was observed by representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labour.
While urging security agencies to interrogate Idris, Egbon accused him of being manipulated by forces collaborating with the masterminds of the August protest.
“There is no truth in the claims made by the so-called Comrade Idris, who asserts to be a union member. We do not recognize him in any of our units.
“Nigerians should disregard rumours of a strike by our union. Those making such claims are aligned with the planners of the August protest,” Egbon stated.
