NUPENG Warns Tanker Drivers against Petrol Theft

By ZION Olalekan |

The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has said that stiff sanctions would henceforth be placed on owners of petroleum tankers and their drivers who release their trucks to ‘motor boys’ to load products from the depots.

The union stated this at the weekend at a national executive meeting of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of NUPENG which held in Imo State and presided over by the National Chairman of PTD, Comrade Salimon Oladiti.

Confirming the high points of the meeting to Nigerianmaritime360.com, Comrade Chris Iyasere, a unit secretary of the PTD noted that the meeting was called majorly on how to build and develop the image of the union. He quoted the PTD national chairman as lamenting that the union has been inundated with several complains of drivers engaging in various atrocities like stealing of petroleum products with the collaboration of some unit chairmen.

Iyasere told our correspondent that such acts would no longer be condoned by the union as proper sanctions would now be applied to erring drivers.

Citing the recent fire incident at Otedola Bridge in Lagos, Comrade Iyasere stated that the driver gave the truck to his motor boy to go ahead and load product at the tank farm, a development which the union strongly frowns at.

He said that the national executive meeting was preceded by branch executive meeting on Thursday.

“The meeting was all about the development of the union, the image of the union, the warning to tanker drivers and other atrocities which they are committing and the union is disturbed. Some Tanker drivers steal products and union chairmen take money”

“The union also frowns at night driving by tanker drivers, the meeting cited the instances of drivers that give their truck to motor boys to come and load. This is as a result of the Otedola fire incident and another in the north, these incidents happened because some drivers give their truck to motor boys to go and load. Some of the drivers also pilfer product from the owners.

“All these are what the union is moving to curtail because of the image of the union” he said.

Recall that Lagos State Police Command has arrested owner of the truck conveying the 33,000 fuel tanker that exploded on Otedola Bridge in July 2018.

The truck with registration number NSR 888 YQ was laden with petroleum product, lost control, spilling its content and went up in flame, burning 56 vehicles and killing 9 unidentified persons. Meanwhile, the owner of the truck, Hassan Maikwe of 16 Hotoro Limawa, Kano state, has since been arrested.