IPMAN, NUPENG suspend strike in Oyo and Osun over police harassment

Members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in Oyo and Osun states have suspended their strike over police harassment.

According to NAN, the suspension of the strike was announced in a statement signed on Monday by Mutiu Bukola, chairman of IPMAN, and Hammed Hamzat, chairman of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch (PTD) of NUPENG. Other signatories include Surajudeen Adegoke, chairman of the Independent Marketers Branch (IMB) of NUPENG, and Olalekan Lawal, vice-chairman of IPMAN.

On July 13, IPMAN and NUPENG suspended activities due to “police harassment and extortion of members.”

The associations unanimously condemned the actions of the “Inspector General of Police (IGP) monitoring team” on the highway, which “disrupted the movement of petroleum products” from depots to petrol stations in the two states. They also demanded the immediate release of the driver and the truck, which the associations said were illegally detained by the team.

IPMAN and NUPENG said the decision to suspend the strike was a result of the intervention of various stakeholders, including zonal leaders and the Osun Police Commissioner, who secured the release of the detained driver and his truck.

“We have raised the issues with stakeholders from PTD, IMB and IPMAN in the western zone and 70 per cent of our demands have been met,” the associations said.

“Furthermore, the Osun Police Commissioner has invited the unions to a roundtable meeting on July 15 to resolve other issues bordering on harassment and extortion.

“We are suspending the strike to allow for dialogue and resolution of the issues of victimization, harassment and extortion that we raised with the IGP monitoring team.”

IPMAN and NUPENG said the strike had been suspended to allow time for improvements in understanding and working conditions among the Nigerian Police, adding that the outcome of the meeting would be released to the press.

They also expressed gratitude to industry stakeholders, including the zone councils of PTD, IMB and IPMAN, as well as their members from the three trade unions, for their cooperation.

The associations reiterated their opposition to the presence of the IGP monitoring team on the highway, adding that the team should instead focus on its primary duties of curbing vandalism and illegal bunkering of petroleum products.

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