The Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (PTD-NUPENG) has said it has no plans to embark on strike in support of the planned August 1 nationwide protest by some Nigerian youths.
The National Chairman of PTD-NUPENG, Comrade Augustine Egbon, in a statement on Wednesday, raised concerns that some forces were trying to infiltrate the union to promote the planned demonstration.
Egbon’s statement follows an online report attributed to a union member, Comrade Olaitan Idris, who claimed that an industrial crisis was imminent.
Idris asserted that the recent special delegates’ conference in Lagos, where Comrades Augustine Egbon and Oluchi Chinagorom were elected as national chairman and national secretary, respectively, did not have the support of the majority of union members.
In response, Comrade Egbon dismissed Idris’s claims as false and baseless.
He affirmed that the election in Lagos was well-represented, with delegates from all zones and 150 units of PTD-NUPENG, and observed by representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labour.
Egbon urged security agencies to interrogate Comrade Idris, alleging that he was 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 member of the union. We do not recognise 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 said.
He reiterated that PTD-NUPENG, under his leadership, has no plans to strike and urged the federal government to identify and address those issuing threats of a strike during this critical period for the industry.