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By Prosper Olayiwola

The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) under the aegis of “Concerned Elders League” has on Monday, October 20, 2025 decried the recent indecent and embarrassing public misconduct of the NUPENG General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale at the National Assembly, calling it “a show of shame” .

PTD also alleged that Afolabi is the architect of all the protracted crisis bedeviling the Union and that he had destroyed all the legacies built by the founding fathers of the Union, particularly those credited to late Comrade (Chief) Frank Ovie Kokori who sacrificed his freedom, comfort and health for Nigeria’s democracy to survive. Regrettably, Afolabi and Williams Akporeha are the only NUPENG leaders in history that had taken members to court, remanded them in prison custody on trumped-up criminal charges.

The elders in a jointly signed statement by Comrades Kolapo Muse-Showunmi, Khalid Adamu, Christopher Owheyre and Kingsley Amadi called on the General Secretary to honourably leave the Union, noting that his arrogance, brashness, intellectual deficit were setting very dangerous precedents for the Union. They also accused him of standing truth in the head and playing to the gallery to gain cheap publicity and relevance.

Checks revealed that the General Secretary had on behalf of NUPENG made a declaration in a memorandum to the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) during the Annual Downstream Petroleum Week Conference at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja that no democracy could thrive where workers’ voices were suppressed, warning that attempts to undermine trade union rights in the nation’s oil and gas industry were unconstitutional and unacceptable.

He also reminded the Federal parliamentarians that Nigeria’s democracy was partly achieved through the historic struggles of trade unions such as NUPENG and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, against military dictatorship. Among other things, he posited that the same democratic values must now be used to protect the rights of workers who sustained the nation’s energy sector.

However, the Tanker Drivers in their swift reaction unanimously said, “Nigerians were surprised to see Afolabi, an individual who unilaterally sacked several NUPENG paid staff, who also suspended, expelled and incarcerated many union national officers, and same erratic man who flagrantly and contemptuously disobeyed several court orders and judgments; manipulating electoral guidelines to disenfranchise members that were not his anointed candidates among other infractions, that is the same character who made a dramatic appearance at the designated Committee room of the National Assembly and pontificating, this cunning action only reflected a show of a disdainful contrast to what Afolabi stands for or represents, and he knows this.”

PTD’s official statement in reaction to Afolabi’s affront on Tuesday reads further; “Industry stakeholders, regulators and Nigeria as a whole watched the embarrassing moment and show of shame displayed by the General Secretary of NUPENG, Afolabi Olawale at the National Assembly on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. His brashness, arrogance and display of intellectual deficit clearly showed a clear case of recruitment error in the junior oil workers’ union. Seeing this inconsistent and belligerent character spill his gut in such a disgraceful manner left us with no choice but to say we are grossly disappointed at everyone who contributed to how Afolabi emerged as the General Secretary of our great Union, the enablers of this man have done the greatest harm and disservice to NUPENG and posterity will be harsh to them.

“Seeing Afolabi openly making a submission that NUPENG is demanding immediate recognition of both NUPENG and PENGASSAN as the only statutory unions for junior and senior oil and gas workers and that such recognition must be a precondition for operational licensing within the oil and gas sector showed the monopolistic tendencies of these overzealous and misguided unionists. It is better for him to tender his resignation letter and save himself and the Union’s image from further embarrassment and reproach.

“Emperical evidence has also revealed that Afolabi Olawale is one person whose interest is to enrich himself and display a high level of heinous activity to subjugate other union members and staff. There are also indications that affiliate members of NUPENG are not holding back in passing of a vote of no confidence on the President Prince Williams Akporeha, and the General Secretary, Afolabi Olufemi Olawale, as it is widely confirmed that these individuals have embarrassingly failed the union administratively and operationally, and they lack the gravitas to raise suggestions or offer advice at the hallowed complex of law making or any other fora in Nigeria or elsewhere.

“It is really appalling to see NUPENG’s scribe and others who are egging him on, in such a bellicose and pugnacious mood at a time when President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry is currently yielding fruits. Therefore Nigeria’s government, especially the Presidency should stop taking chances, nor should they allow any charlatan to serve as cog in the wheel of progress of our country. Our institutions, especially the Ministry of Labour and Employment, industry regulators, Law Enforcement Agencies, our esteemed Law Makers, Ministry of Petroleum Resources etc, should not grant audience to some touts, who have overrated themselves and parading themselves as unionists, this set of hoaxer should never be allowed to tinker with the Petroleum Industry Act, in order to suit their own selfish desires and create crisis in the industry, just as they did in PTD and other branches of the Union.

“We make bold to say we are proud of President Bola Tinubu for putting a stop to payment of Petroleum subsidy and his implementation of the PIA which is working in consonance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on energy efficiency and security as well as the 2030 Agenda. We also now have Dangote Refinery on board, a socially responsible player that is depopulating the unemployment market, bringing in eco-friendly CNG brand new trucks to mitigate the gaps of logistics, products supply and distribution throughout the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. With all these attendant feats, Dangote deserves all the accolades for keying into Tinubu’s progressive economic blueprints, primarily designed to champion socio-economic recovery, advancement as well as prosperity for our land.

“Therefore, we reiterate again, no one under any pretense should be tolerated to act as an encumbrance to progress, government must urgently wields its full executive powers by making an example out of every nuisance element masquerading under the guise of trade union, and exhibiting destructive tendencies, subversive blackmail and crass shenanigans. Economic saboteurs in the country are daily unmasking the veil, and having been identified, the government should swiftly swing into action by making them face the full weight of the law. No one is above the law and its sanctity including NUPENG, PENGASSAN and their ilk.

“On this note, we humbly appeal to members of the National Assembly at both chambers to treat NUPENG’s ill-conceived memorandum as a distasteful tool for confusion designed to destabilize the country’s Upstream, Mid-stream and Downstream Petroleum sector. Their act of economic sabotage in documentation and in principles should be thrashed and thrown to the refuse bin for lack of substance. Nobody should be allowed to derail President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda particularly in the integral sector of the country’s economy.

“The National Assembly should please prevail on NUPENG to stop the multidimensional nonsense and slavery in the union and as well stop these union leaders for using the check off dues of their members to build recreation centres, hotels, buying of houses in Canada, the UK, and United States. We further appeal to the Honourable members and Distinguished Senators to stop these misguided union leaders or probably advise them to halt their frequent patronage to women in hotels at city centres, to avoid spread of STIs which poses higher risk to public health and safety.

“In addition, those who are morally corrupt and that have patently or overtly betrayed their country lack the right or privilege to dictate to our parliamentarians on how to effectively and efficiently manage their constitutionally guaranteed legislative affairs, especially the country’s highly sensitive Petroleum sector. United, we stand against every economic saboteur and enemies of progress in Nigeria’s economic powerhouse,” the statement concluded.