NUPENG Threatens Strike, Alleges FG Fails to Fix 21 Highways

The Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG) on Wednesday threatened to begin a sudden nationwide strike to protest the failure of the Federal Government to fix 21 selected highways based on agreement reached by stakeholders.

Also, the drivers, under the endorsement of NUPENG, stated that they had discovered that senior government officials were currently diverting the N621bn provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for the rehabilitation of the identified federal highways.

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PTD National Chairman, Salmon Oladiti, told journalists in Abuja that the union was about going on strike in September last year but was prevailed upon by NNPC after the oil firm and the Federal Executive Council approved the N621bn for the roads rehabilitation.

He said NNPC called the leadership of the union for two separate meetings held on October 10, 2021 in Ibadan and October 12, 2021 in Abuja.

Oladiti observed that all critical stakeholders were at these meetings, including Federal Inland Revenue Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners and PTD.

He said, “These two meetings resulted into signing of communique indicating the readiness and willingness of NNPC to finance the rehabilitation of 21 critical roads at an estimated sum of N621bn through road infrastructure tax credit scheme.

“On the basis of this communique, we suspended the intended industrial action but with a very clear warning, that should the spirit and letter of the agreement are not fully implemented with focus on those jointly identified critical roads, the union will not hesitate to resume the intended actions without further warning.

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