PTD members begin nationwide protest, threaten to exit NUPENG

The PTD, a group of petroleum tanker drivers, has issued an ultimatum to their parent body, the NUPENG, to sack its President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, or face their exit.

Mr. Gbenga Olawale, a PTD leader from the Ibadan depot, announced in a statement on Sunday that their members would launch a nationwide protest to back up their demand.

The statement instructed PTD members across the country to display leaves on their trucks to signal to NUPENG and police their displeasure and their resistance to meddling and constant harassment of their leaders.

Olawale claimed that Williams was not a bona fide member of NUPENG and therefore had no qualification to lead the union. He accused Williams of being smuggled into petrol station workers of NUPENG (PSW) to enable him to run for election as NUPENG president, which was a violation of the NUPENG constitution.

“Williams was not employed or working as a pump attendant, as at the time he was vying for the president position,” the statement said.

Olawale also alleged that Williams used his cronies to syphon off all the union’s income, which was not invested in the union and tanker drivers.

He demanded a new election as members of the PTD have resolved to support Lucky Osusan and Dayyabu Garga as the new NUPENG president and general secretary, respectively.

Olawale said that they chose to back Osusan and Garga because they had made great efforts to ensure that their members were free from all forms of extortion.