Amidst the shortfall in the supply of petroleum products across the country, the national secretariat of the Petroleum Tankers Drivers Branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (PTD-NUPENG ) has threatened to call on its members to withdraw their trucks from depots.
The National Chairman of the Union, Comrade Augustine Egbon, disclosed this on Thursday in a statement issued in Abuja.
The action which could paralyse the loading of petroleum products and, ultimately, scarcity at retail outlets is to protest what he described as the excesses of the Task Force set up by the office of the Inspector General of Police, Michael Egbetokun.
Checks revealed that the PTD-NUPENG, as part of its resolutions at its NEC meeting held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, had urged the IGP to curb the highhandedness of its task force on petroleum products impounding tankers on federal highways.
Comrade Egbon recalled that two trucks loaded with Automotive Gas Oil ( AGO) were wrongly impounded by the Task Force between July and August in Funtua, Katsina State, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The PTD-NUPENG National Chairman further revealed in the statement that despite documents presented to the Task Force to show the depots where they were loaded and evidence of genuine certification by the statutory regulatory agencies, the IGP office has ignored overwhelming evidence and has refused to release the trucks.
He said: “The truck with registration number GRY 155XA loaded 49,000 litres of AGO at Prudent Energy Limited in Oghara, Delta State. The destination was Sokoto, but it was impounded in Funtua, Katsina State, on July 31, 2024.
“The second truck with registration number TWD272XA, with 45,000 litres of AGO, loaded the products at Integrated Oil & Gas in Apapa, Lagos. Its destination was Yobe State before it was impounded in August in Abuja.”
Comrade Egbon expressed disaffection that, in spite of the fact that samples of the products from the two trucks were certified by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Products Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the office of the Inspector General of Police Task Force team has remained adamant and has refused to release the loaded trucks.
The PTD-NUPENG national chairman, who recalled several representations to the office of the IGP, said his Union is being pushed to the wall with no other option than to ask its members to withdraw their services.
His statement further reads, “We have presented authentic documents to the police that the products were genuine and the point of loading. The IGP office has continued to ignore us.
“At our last NEC meeting, we issued a deadline to them, demanding the release of the impounded trucks and a stoppage to the continued harassment of our members.
“We have been making our contributions to assist the federal government in its genuine efforts to make petroleum products available and ease the sufferings of Nigerians.
“It is unfortunate that the office of the IGP is unmindful of the threat that the excesses of its men constitute to the federal government’s determined efforts to promote the effective distribution of petroleum products and peace in the industry.
“We are giving another two weeks notice. Failure to heed our demand by the office of the IGP, we will stop loading of products from the depots.”
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