A member of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of NUPENG in Kaduna Zone, Comrade (Alhaji) Tajudeen Abubakar has accused the General Secretary of the parent body, Afolabi Olawale to have been responsible for over fourty disruptive lawsuits against the union in the last one year.
According to the union leader, the lawsuits had grounded both operational and administrative activities in NUPENG leading to employee turnover with many branches opting out of its fold. He equally expressed worry that NUPENG has now gone beggarly, having resorted to soliciting money from every Tom, Dick, and Harry to put in TVs, chairs, tables, etc to the newly built National Secretariat in Jibowu, Lagos due to poor management and planning.
Abubakar further berated the injustice meted out to Comrade Lucky Osesua, who he described as the legitimate National Chairman of PTD, his deputy, Dayyabu Garga, as well as the National Secretary, Humble Power Obinna.
He as well upbraided Afolabi Olawale over his scathing attacks, humiliation, intimidation and victimization on anyone who had the courage to ask him salient and harmless questions about the affairs of PTD leadership, especially its financial inflow and outflow.
In a chat with newsmen in Asaa Pyramid Hotel, Lafia road in Kaduna on Thursday, April 25, 2024, Abubakar said:
“Every citizen must obey court orders. That is a constitutional duty imposed on every one as stipulated in section 287 of the Constitution. The section says that judgements of every courts of law must be respected. Judgements by National Industrial court, High courts; Court of Appeal and Supreme court; must be respected by all persons and authorities. NUPENG through its National scribe, Afolabi Olawale has thrown caution to the wind by serially disobeying court orders. Now he is battling with more than 40 disruptive lawsuits occasioned by his highandedness, anti union activities, sack of staff and members, greed, corruption allegations, bullying and undue interference to the PTD Branch, among others.
“There is a duty on everyone to obey court orders. And on no account should anyone fail to obey court orders. I think the journalists should also investigate why the judgements have not been obeyed. Secondly, have they appealed those judgements? I don’t think any responsible union that is worth its salt should disobey court orders because it is the basis for sanity, appropriateness and discipline. If you disobey court judgements, you ridicule the judiciary, the constitution, you ridicule everybody and it is an invitation to anarchy.
“It is really sad to see that Afolabi Olawale illegally stopped the petroleum trucks belonging to the legitimate National Chairman of PTD, Comrade Lucky Osesua, his Deputy, Dayyabu Garga and other executives from loading products at depots, he has created unemployment to all the affected drivers of the trucks, rendered many of them homeless, including their children and wives. A union that is expected to protect people’s jobs is the one taking the jobs from them. Each time anyone asked about the PTD leadership, its financial inflow and outflow, Afolabi will deploy all his arsenal to humiliate, intimate and harass the person for asking salient and harmless questions. I have no doubt that Osesua and his team will surely get justice at the Court, just as all well-intentioned PTD members, and the whole of Nigeria now have sympathy for him and are also praying for him to get victory in the not too distant future.
“What is wrong in Afolabi Olawale being asked to submit his financial records in the last five years for scrutiny, so as to purge himself of large scale malfeasance and corruption in the union and to explain the volumes of inexplicable wealth he acquired which didn’t commensurate with his monthly salaries and allowances? These are Freedom of Information requests which are backed by the Freedom of Information Act, the African Charter and even section 39 of the constitution. It was after this failed that many concerned stakeholders now resort to court, unfortunately the multiple and disruptive lawsuits had grounded both operational and administrative activities in the union.
“It’s unbelievable that NUPENG, which was built by a very principled moral icon, late Frank Kokori, would disregard judgement of the court knowing fully well that the judiciary is just another arm of government that operates within the principle of separation powers. When we see the executives of NUPENG including the President and the General Secretary disobeying those court judgements and subsisting orders, it clearly undermines the judiciary not only on the administration but also to play its roles within the rule of law. More worrisome is that NUPENG has now gone beggarly, having resorted to soliciting money from every Tom, Dick, and Harry to put in TVs, chairs, tables, etc to the newly built National Secretariat in Jibowu, Lagos due to poor management and planning.
“However, we would continue to speak out and encourage the institutions and agencies of government and of the law, including, the Police, DSS, EFCC, ICPC, NFIU, NSCDC, NIA, National Assembly, Ministry of Labour etc, to go after Afolabi Olawale so that there will be sanity in NUPENG as well as PTD.” Abubakar stated.