No going back on strike – NUPENG

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has vowed to go ahead with its planned nationwide strike scheduled to begin on Monday, despite attempts to dissuade its members.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday by its President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, the union said the strike action would be spearheaded by the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch, which would halt the lifting of petroleum products from depots across the country.

The industrial action is in protest against the alleged refusal of Dangote Refinery management to allow drivers of its imported Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to join any trade union.

NUPENG also dismissed a statement credited to Enoch Kanawa, leader of the newly-formed Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA), who urged Nigerians to disregard the strike.

The union described DTCDA as a creation of Dangote Refinery and its allies, accusing them of attempting to weaken the ranks of petroleum tanker drivers.

“The DTCDA is the association which Dangote Group of Companies has formed for the drivers to join compulsorily rather than allowing drivers to join NUPENG, which is the only statutorily recognized union authorized to unionize Petroleum Tanker Drivers,” the statement read.

The union further alleged that DTCDA is backed by businessmen Alhaji Sayyu Aliu Dantata and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who established Direct Trucking Company Limited to recruit drivers for 10,000 CNG trucks. It added that the group’s office shares the same address as MRS Energy Limited, owned by Dantata.

NUPENG accused Kanawa, a lawyer and former executive of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), of fronting for the refinery’s management. It insisted there was no division within its ranks, stressing that the strike was a united decision.

“Slavery ended centuries ago but some unscrupulous capitalists are making efforts to bring it back. Any worker who cannot exercise the right of association is no better than a slave,” the union declared.

NUPENG urged Nigerians to support its cause, maintaining that it would not bow to what it described as “slavish conditions” in the oil and gas industry.