The extended leadership crisis in the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of NUPENG has lingered into a year and 10 months, with some concerned members taking a swipe at the Elders Forum of the parent body as well as past leaders of the Branch (PTD) for showing lack of seriousness in putting the union back on healthy track.
These concerned oil and gas workers are stakeholders from all the four Zones of the Union made up of Lagos, Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna Zones. They made this latest reaction in a jointly signed statement issued on Thursday, September 4, 2025.
Comrade (Alhaji) Tajudeen Abubakar (Kaduna Zone), Chief (Mrs.) Blessing Dafinone (Warri Zone), Comrade Joseph Dagogo-Jack (JP) (Port Harcourt Zone) and Comrade Kolade Fadahunsi-Ojelabi (Lagos Zone) in the joint statement noted that if the "rascality" of the leadership of NUPENG was not curbed the Union would be "doomed and driven into oblivion without any hope for redemption"
The union stakeholders also decried what they described as "double standards and hypocrisy" of NUPENG Elders Forum and the insalubrious silence of past national leaders of the PTD.
They further criticised the elders for being unperturbed about the unlawful and unconstitutional suspension of the National Treasurer of NUPENG, Comrade Alex Agwanwor, Samuel Mina, Queen Udeh, Justine Adigwe, and others, stressing that the obnoxious act flagrantly contravenes the union’s Constitution, and breaches the fundamental rights of the affected union leaders in Rivers State. The stakeholders also commended Comrade Alex Agwanwor and others for going to Court to challenge the illegality meted on them and not taking laws into their own hands.
According to the statement, the matter of the unlawfully suspended NUPENG leaders in Port Harcourt Zone was adjourned to be heard in Court on Thursday, 4th September, 2025.
“The story about the PTD crisis is an unfortunate one which has set a very dangerous and embarrassing record for PTD-NUPENG, a Union that once gained international recognition and respect. Monday September 1, made it a year and 10 months that the crisis has been on, which was precisely Wednesday, November 1, 2023. This was a day after the leadership of NUPENG conducted a sham election in Ibadan to give opportunity to their stooge, Augustine Egbon, after Comrade Lucky Osesua had validly emerged as the National Chairman of PTD in Abuja on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
“It is patently unthinkable and pitiful that past leaders of PTD will stand idly by and helplessly watch this crisis fester for almost two years. They were unperturbed and even failed to stand for truth. They saw nothing wrong in how NUPENG leadership harassed, arrested, and detained PTD leaders over trumped-up charges. They raised no alarm when Osesua-led PTD national executives were taken to different Police stations, and different Courts, they were also not bothered how these leaders were remanded in both Keffi and Kuje Prisons for no justifiable reasons.
“What happened to the good legacies of the founding fathers? We really can't understand why NUPENG, which has a constitutional mandate to protect the rights of their members and improve on their welfare, is still the one prosecuting and persecuting them; yet no one is putting them to check. Without any ambiguity if the rascality of the leadership of NUPENG is not curbed, the Union would be doomed and driven into oblivion with no hope of redemption.
“In the spirit of solidarity and natural justice, we also agree with the aggrieved leadership of PTD led by Comrade Lucky Osesua when they earlier expressed shock and absolute disappointment that Comrade Samuel Dada led three-man Committee could dismiss the collective essence of PTD, capriciously behaved like an autocrat, disregarded the basic principle of Alternative Dispute Resolution which is to be neutral and unbiased. They did 100% opposite of what they told Comrade Lucky Osesua and his group that they would do to resolve the lingering crisis in the Union which is now over one year and ten months old. In the words of the committee members, they assured us that there would be ‘No Victor, No Vanquished’; and they added that ‘You will win some and lose some, while the other party will win some and lose some’.
“It is within the constitutional right of Osesua's group to have openly announced their dissatisfaction that there are several unanswered questions in the Committee’s recommendations. In the first instance, what was the root cause of the crisis; was it identified and resolved? What led to the nullifications of the two previous elections conducted by NUPENG on June 30th 2022, and 31st October 2023? Did NUPENG comply with the judgements of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Yenagoa Division of 24th July, 2023, and that of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Abuja of 29th May 2024, to conduct an election that will be all-inclusive and non-discriminatory on any account, as ordered by the Court? Why was the Kangaroo election of 3rd July 2024 in Lagos conducted under watertight security and in a haste, contrary to the 3 months notification as enshrined in the PTD Bye-Laws?
“More worrisome is the fact that these group of elders in NUPENG and the past leaders in PTD both failed to lend their voices to the unlawful and unconstitutional suspension of the National Treasurer of NUPENG, Comrade Alex Agwanwor and other executives from Port Harcourt Zone of NUPENG namely, Comrades Samuel Mina, Queen Udeh, Justine Adigwe, etc. This obnoxious act flagrantly contravenes the NUPENG and trade union laws. The actions of NUPENG General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale and the President, Williams Akporeha breached the fundamental rights of these affected union leaders who were given no fair hearing, the consequences of this action will definitely put the union into total disrepute and ruin. We also commend these union leaders for not taking laws into their hands, as it is already a public knowledge that the matter is in Court wherein the affected union leaders have asked the Court to set aside their purported suspension or any other vicious plot of NUPENG President and General Secretary to expel them from the union. Thursday September 4 is the day the court will look into the case and we pray these law abiding NUPENG leaders in Port Harcourt will get justice.
“This is the time for the Veterans of both PTD and NUPENG to deliver the union from the hands of a few greedy and wicked individuals who have decided to destroy the union for their selfish gains. We also call for the review of the biased recommendations made by the 3-man committee of NUPENG and advise those directly concerned to correct the wrongs and allow justice, equity and fairness to prevail in PTD and NUPENG as a whole. We also use this medium to appeal to all our members in all the four Zones of PTD in Nigeria to be more peaceful in their conduct as the road to victory and tranquility in the union is near and ultimately realistic,” PTD stated.
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