The Nigeria Union of Petroleum Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has categorically denied any plans for a protest by members of its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch.
In a statement issued by Afolabi Olawale, the General Secretary of NUPENG, the public is urged not to panic and disregard the alleged rumours.
News About Nigeria reports that the statement emphasised that there was no intention by the Petroleum Tanker Drivers to embark on any protest.
It dismissed the rumours of a division within the union as false and unfounded. The leadership of NUPENG and PTD reiterated that the information circulating online is misleading, mischievous, and aimed at creating unnecessary panic and causing artificial scarcity.
The Petroleum Tanker Drivers play a crucial role in the effective and efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country, and they are fully committed to their national service, the statement affirmed.
NUPENG called on security agencies to investigate and identify the source of the fake news, emphasising that the spread of such misinformation could lead to social upheaval and security concerns.
“All the Petroleum Tanker Drivers are fully committed to the national services of effective and efficient distribution of petroleum products across the country.
“We earnestly call on the security agencies to urgently fish out the writer of this very misleading and panic-creating news items and make him face the full wrath of the law if he or she cannot prove the source and authority of the fake news item, which is very capable of creating social upheaval and security concerns,” the statement read.
Similarly, the National Chairman of PTD, Augustine Egbon, described the purported planned protest as the work of mischief-makers with ill intentions for the country.
He stated that the Petroleum Tanker Drivers are not engaging in any form of protest and remain dedicated to their services.
Egbon called on the public to ignore these misleading reports and urged security agencies to investigate the spread of false information.
