Concerned tanker drivers from different parts of the country have passed a vote of confidence in Petroleum Tankers Driver (PTD) and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), even as they faulted the public statements attributed to a faceless group operating under the platform of PTD Elders Forum.
They accused the group which they noted is not known to the PTD bylaws and NUPENG Constitution of dishing out falsehood to members of the public.
Recall that Comrades Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale, the president and the general secretary of NUPENG, had in a statement on Sunday alerted members of the public and security agents that the so-called PTD Elders Forum are infiltrators with sinister motives to cause disaffection within the ranks of genuine leadership of the Tanker Drivers Branch of NUPENG.
The NUPENG leaders also disclosed that Comrade Augustine Egbon is the national chairman of the PTD-NUPENG, duly elected by members at its Branch Delegates Conference held in Lagos on July 3, 2024.
Addressing journalists at a press briefing in Lagos, the tanker drivers from Kaduna, Lagos, Port-Harcourt and Warri Zones, disowned the PTD Elders and maintained that they are fake individuals masquerading as tanker drivers.
One of the tanker drivers from Kaduna zone, Comrade Bashir Izalan, said he was surprised that a faceless group was laying claim to membership of the PTD- NUPENG.
He said, “We don’t have anything like PTD Elders in the hierarchy of PTD- NUPENG. We don’t know them.
“The only recognised national chairman we know is led by Comrade Egbon. His leadership is transparent; he gives us a sense of belonging because we can go anywhere in the country and feel at home. If we fall sick, we have insurance and hospitals where we would be treated.”
Speaking on behalf of tanker drivers in Lagos Zone, Comrade Itanola Abiodun said that the impostors do not belong to the union and appealed to security agents to fish them out for prosecution.
