The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has described as “sheer blackmail” recent allegations that it collects illegal levies at petroleum depots across the country.
In a statement yesterday, the union, which is currently embroiled in a unionisation dispute with Dangote Refinery, expressed concern over what it called a calculated attempt to malign its image through social media campaigns, misinformation, and distortions of fact.
According to NUPENG:“They are pained by our victory over unionisation battles against them, and they are out for revenge by attacking our reputation and activities. Please don’t be depressed by all these negative things they are writing because social media is full of ignorant people who have access to phones and data to post anything.”
The union said it had been falsely accused of facilitating smuggling, charging “N1.00 per litre” on imported petroleum products, and contributing to the collapse of government refineries.
“Some are just throwing figures all over about the collections at the various depots… At these depots are tanker drivers, depot workers, employees of marketers, as well as associations like Truck Owners, Independent Marketers, and Major Marketers. All collect dues, but only PTD-NUPENG is singled out.”
It lamented that Nigerians tend to be unsympathetic to strikes that disrupt fuel supply, noting:
“ASUU, NASU, NMA can go on strike for years and Nigerians don’t care, but once we embark on strike, they want us out of the way at all costs.”
Clarifying the use of union dues, NUPENG listed training programmes with road safety agencies, provision of health insurance through LEADWAY, and mobilisation of security against highway banditry as key interventions.
The statement further suggested that other stakeholders in the downstream petroleum sector—major marketers, independent marketers and truck owners—were silently supportive of NUPENG’s resistance to Dangote’s perceived takeover of the sector.
“The issue of collections at the depots is a blackmail being thrown at us, and there is no way we can defend them against an already biased public opinion,” the statement said,
