Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTDs) Raise Alarm Against NUPENG, Police Harassment, And Intimidation

The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) have expressed concern about alleged ongoing harassment, intimidation, and harmful mistreatment by the General Secretary of NUPENG in collusion with the Nigeria Police Force.
They have continued to fraudulently manipulate the PTD’s electoral agreements and bylaws, causing public unrest.

They also claimed that top NUPENG officials and police officers are determined to overturn the National Industrial Court’s decision in the Bayelsa state division and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja.

In a strongly worded petition to the Minister of Police Affairs, which was copied to all relevant agencies, including the Presidency, the aggrieved PTD members lamented that a faction of the union is attempting to thwart and manipulate the upcoming election in their favour using the Nigeria Police, and they urged the Minister and other good-hearted and relevant agencies to assist them in bringing justice to them.
According to the petition signed by Ikechukwu Okpalaelechi of the In-depth Legal Consults, PTD members stated that prior to the delegates conference in 2022, one Comrade Godwin Ewhrudjakpor, a member of PTD from Warri Zone, Delta State, challenged Comrade Lucky Osesua’s membership in PTD, but the delegates conference that followed in June of that year in Ibadan took place, and Comrade Osesua participated and was elected as the National Chairman of PTD-Extraction.
According to the petitioners, in delivering the judgement, the court, among other things, confirmed that Comrade Lucky Osesua is a member of PTD, but it also nullified the election and dissolved the National Executive Council of PTD, which was formed as a result of the said election in Ibadan.
The court ruled that the election violated the PTD 2019 bylaws and ordered NUPENG to first form a caretaker committee and an electoral committee to hold an election for the PTD’s various national offices within four months of the decision.

The court also stated that such an electoral committee must be in accordance with the relevant provisions of the PTD bylaws of 2019 and not be an arbitrary exercise of power by NUPENG, and ordered that a caretaker committee be formed to handle PTD affairs pending the conduct of the election in accordance with Rule 10 of the PTD bylaws.
The petitioners stated that, following the constitution of NUPENG, the next most important instrument governing the body’s leadership is their 2019 bylaws, which state that in the event of the removal of a National Officer, the next officer in rank to the removed officer shall act on his behalf, or the PTD branch working committee on behalf of the branch executive committee shall co-opt a credible person in his place.

They claimed that this rule was never followed, despite the fact that not all members of the branch working committee and executive committee were removed from office.
“The rule was never followed, the judgement was never obeyed, and thus trouble began.
“In the build-up to the election as ordered by the court, the General Secretary and his accomplices became both the head of the caretaker committee and the electoral committee, thereby manipulating the process to suit the whims and caprices of an acclaimed “godfather” and those who claim to own PTD, and as such denied and disenfranchised Comrade Lucky Osesua and others with obnoxious election guidelines that prevent them from contesting or participating in the election.”

The petitioners also claimed that Comrade Otunba Saliman Oladiti, the immediate past National Chairman of PTD, was primarily responsible for inciting the problem in the union due to his excessive desire to take over the entire property and leadership structure of PTD to the detriment of its members.

According to the petitioners, he has a strong desire to play a big godfather’s role in selecting the leadership of the PTD, ostensibly to cover up the rot perpetrated within the union, and he is using some top officers in NUPENG to exacerbate the problem in PTD.

There were also indiscriminate suspensions of members who they believed were in Comrade Osesua’s camp or supporting him, resulting in a significant gap in the once-loved PTD family.
The petitioners also claimed that they implemented measures to muddle the proper operation of PTD’s affairs, create confusion, and outright engage in a fraudulent campaign to eliminate Comrade Osesua and his executives’ candidature for various positions in favour of their stooges and appointees.
The petitioners claimed that the ding dong affair prompted several police petitions in which they concocted lies and deceptions against Comrade Osesua and his group, and that the police intimidated, harassed, and hounded them several times, even detaining them in their stations and correctional centres.

” While this was happening, NUPENG filed a matter at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Abuja, asking the court for interpretation of certain sections of their constitution and rules of the PTD bylaws, and on May 29, 2024, the court delivered judgement and yet again nullified both elections, ordering a fresh election to be conducted within four months from the date of the judgement with strict compliance with and within the electoral rules and procedures provided in
” However, the so-called godfather and his cohorts are still hellbent on scuttling court orders by using the police to harass, intimidate, and hound Comrade Osesua and his supporters. They have stopped all of their trucks from loading petroleum products, and for the past nine months, they have denied them their entitlements and blocked their businesses, which is a crime against humanity.
“We are, therefore, appealing that you use your good offices as National Security Adviser to intervene and bring justice, unity, and harmony to PTD, as well as investigate the matter and determine the level of involvement of security agencies in aiding, harassing, and intimidating Comrade Osesua and his supporters.”