February 07, 2024 [Punch]- The management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Limited has called on the feuding National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers leaders to settle the rift between them.
Dangote Refinery urged the two unions to “urgently work together to put their house in order and ensure a harmonious working relationship” at the multi-billion dollar facility.
It was gathered that counsel to the PTD, Ekoja Enenche of Enenche & Co., had in a letter to the Executive Director of the refinery claimed there was a monumental crisis in the union over an alleged unlawful ouster of its legitimate executives by a segment of the association, urging the management to disregard the rival executives.
But reacting to the letter which was signed by Enenche, the company urged the two unions to resolve all lingering disputes in their rank to avoid disrupting the peaceful work environment at the facility.
The company charged the union leaders and members to find a lasting solution to the rift between the two groups for the sake progress and productivity.
They were implored to shun all acts that could cause could breed disunity, saying that would be inimical in achieving the desired results.
PTD, an arm of NUPENG had in November 2023 threatened to pull out of NUPENG if its National President, Williams Akporeha, and its General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, failed to resign from their positions.
They had alleged that the NUPENG president lacked the required competence to lead the union because he was not a member of the association.
However, the NUPENG secretary had since dismissed the allegation, adding that the faction that issued the statement were not PTD members.
Afolabi claimed the faction leaders that issued the statement had been allegedly arrested and detained at Kuje prison in Abuja.
The leadership tussle between the two groups have continued to linger with no particular end in sight as at the time of filing this report.
It is expected that the intervention of Dangote refinery will aid quick resolution of the crisis.
Dangote refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day integrated refinery and petrochemical in the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos State.
Owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, the refinery’s pipeline infrastructure is said to be the largest in the world with 1,100km and will handle 3bn standard cubic feet of gas per day.
When fully operational, it is reported the facility will be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility.
The refinery will process a variety of light and medium grades of crude to produce Euro-V quality clean fuels including gasoline and diesel as well as jet fuel and polypropylene. It recently announced that it has started the production of diesel and jet fuel.
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