The Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP) has accused the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) of extortion and imposing excessive levies on tanker owners in the downstream sector.
ADITOP National President, Lawal Dan-zaki, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, distanced the association from NUPENG’s planned strike against Dangote Refinery.
He alleged that NUPENG and its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) arm routinely disrupted supply and distribution by holding tanker owners to ransom, imposing levies, and extorting drivers, only to resort to strikes when challenged.
According to him, “NUPENG, PTD and other unions under its umbrella extort ADITOP members and depot owners one Naira per litre of every product loaded in a depot. Additionally, they collect another one Naira per litre from marketers, besides loading charges of N80,000 to N100,000 per truck. This is outright extortion and economic sabotage.”
Dan-zaki said ADITOP had petitioned security and regulatory agencies over the past five years on the unions’ activities, but little had changed. He further accused NUPENG of feeding on the alleged extortions while remitting no taxes to the Federal Government.
He urged the government to support the Dangote Group against what he described as the antics of the unions.
