Rumbles amongst Petrol Tanker Drivers As Mobil Unit Excos Allege Ex Chairman of Fraud and Threat to their Lives
By Stephen Olusegun/ LAGOS// Members of Petroleum Tankers Drivers, PTD, Mobil Unit in Apapa area of Lagos state have raised an alarm over threat to the lives of some of their executive members, fingering the immediate past chairman of the union, Alhaji Saheed Adigun as the brain behind series of attacks that happened to them in recent times.
The PTD is an independent Branch of National Union of Petroleum and National Gas Workers (NUPENG)
In a petition written to the NUPENG National President, copies of which were sent and acknowledged in the offices of the Senate President, Inspector General of Police, IGP, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Department of State Services (DSS), alleged that “the ex-chairman of PTD in Mobil Unit, Saheed Adigun hides under the umbrella of Gastab Haulage Nigeria Limited to violently refused to pay daily trip levies to the appropriate quarters”. Adigun was alleged to have “conspired with Tayo Aboyeji, the Zonal Nupeng Chairman Lagos State, to permanently embezzled the sum of Ninety Six Million Naira (N96,000,000:00) and in a bid to achieve this, threatened continuously to deal with the current executives of the unit he led for many years. The ex-chairman was said to have particularly target Comrade Tunde Akinade, Chairman, PTD, Mobil Unit and Alhaji Nurudeen, treasurer of the unit in his attack.
The petition which was filled by a lawyer from V-CROWN SOLICITORS described Alhaji Saheed Adigun as the Managing Director/Chairman of the Gastab Haulage Nigeria Limited, and the immediate past unit chairman of Mobil Unit of PTD, Apapa, Lagos.
The petition alleges that the Comrade Akinade’s led executives members were elected as the PTD Unit Chairman of the Mobil, Apapa, Lagos in March 2014, a tenure which lasted in line with the PTD bye laws, for 4years before were re-elected for another term of 4years which ought to lapse in March, 2022
SECURITY MONITOR learns that Saheed Adigun handed over to Comrade Akinade on the 18th March, 2014. It was gathered that there is a mandatory trip levy, usually in form of ticket that the union issues to each truck/tanker to assess the depot at the rate of Nine Thousand seven Hundred Thousand, Naira (N9, 700:00) . Adigun was said to have over 80 trucks that load fuel at the Mobil depot on daily basis and he has not been paying for the trips tickets on any of his trucks since he assumed office. Comrade Akinade led excos sees this as a fraud and makes unfruitful efforts to retrieve the union’s money from their ex-chairman, Adigun
“Since the beginning of our Akinadet’s tenure till date, Alhaji Saheed Adigun neglects and refuses to pay for trip ticket on any of his trucks, and all efforts to make him pay proved fruitless by his recalcitrance”.
The petitioner also alleges that during the last Auditing process, it was revealed that the union under Akinade’s’s administration is indebted to the Lagos Zonal office of PTD, to the tune of Thirty Four Million Naira (N34,000,000:00K), which according to the union treasurer, Alhaji Nurudeen was part of the outstanding debt of Alhaji Saheed Adigun.
The petitioner alleges that the cause of the indebtedness was not investigated which led to Akinade to be summarily removed as the Unit Chairman of the Mobil Unit of PTD, Apapa, Lagos on the 4th day of June, 2021
According to the petition, “Akinade was denied fear hearing before the Lagos Zonal Chairman upon the instigation of the Alhaji Saheed Adigun directed one Akeem Ogunmola to forcefully eject them from office.
Akinade was said to have written a letter dated 15th June, 2021, addressed to the National Chairman of PTD, and copy the office of the Lagos Zonal Chairman, for them to see the need to investigate Alhaji Saheed Adigun and his company, but no credence was given to same.
They alleged that the debt of Alhaji Saheed Adigun to the unit is over Ninety Six Million Naira, N96,000,000:00 and National Team could not initiate the investigation of same, despite calling their attention to it.
Akinade and Nurudeen determined to exploit every legal means to challenge Adigun and his cohort, Tayo Aboyeji, the current Lagos Zonal Chairman of NUPENG . They claim that their tenure, by virtue of the PTD Bye law still subsist
“Since our forceful removal from office, Alhaji Saheed has been using all sort of hoodlums to silent us from exposing his fraudulent activities”.
“We could no longer move nor travel freely within the country without nursing the fear of being dangerously attacked by some unknown gunmen suspected to be agents of Alhaji Saheed Adigun. It is expedient to state further that, the suspected gunmen usually appear in Naval and Nigerian Army uniform, and all attempts to know the legality of their appearance proved abortive”.
The duo of comrade Akinade and Alhaji Nurudeen who explain how they now live in fear solicit the intervention of NUPENG National Body, the National Assembly, the anti-graft agencies as well as police authority to investigate the corrupt practices and act of fraudulent conversion of PTD funds by Alhaji Saheed Adigun and other Directors.
Alhaji Adigun however denied owing the union in a chat with SECURITY MONITOR, He charges his accusers to produce evidence of their allegations against him, noting that “they have dragged me to the police station before but was disappointed as their allegations lack basis””.
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