Editorial
Tanker Drivers And Labour Laws
The nearly one week old strike embarked upon by the Tanker Drivers wing of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) over disagreement between it and the police on the one hand, and their perceived failure of the Rivers State Government to provide remedial repairs on roads leading to and from petroleum tank farms that have caused untold nightmare for haulage trucks, on the other, has left in its trail, untold sufferings on members of the public.
The hardship experienced by fellow Nigerians whose everyday activities depended so much on availability of petrol to operate commuter vehicles that move the masses, left not a few, asking questions as to why the NUPENG always took delight in inflicting hardship on the masses by refusing to lift petroleum products at the slightest provocation.
Granted that the NUPENG has the right to protect its members’ welfare in their call of duty, this could be done in more civilized ways than through attempts at crippling the economy and inflicting avoidable hardship on fellow compatriots.
As citizens who live in a country guided by laws, our actions must conform with every relevant laws. In this context, therefore, the unions in the oil and gas industry, must play by the rules governing labour relations and disputes at all times.
Indeed, we expect that in the event of any disagreement between NUPENG and either their employers, government or its agents, every avenue for dialogue must be exhausted before resorting to industrial action.
For instance, the union must first issue a 21-day ultimatum, at the expiration of which another 7-day ultimatum is legally permissible. If their demands are not met, even within the 28 days window for dialogue, the next port of call should be the National Industrial Arbitration Court.
We are, however, appalled that both NUPENG and its senior colleagues, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) seldom follow these laid-down processes in resolving their differences with either their employers or government.
This is why it beats our imagination that in a democracy such as ours, which plays by the rule of law, NUPENG still went ahead with its plan to cripple socio-economic activities in Rivers State for nearly one week. This is not acceptable because all avenues for the peaceful resolution of the dispute were not exhausted before the use of their power to halt distribution of petroleum products, in full knowledge of its negative consequences on the economy.
We recall also the case in December 2011, when tanker drivers blocked the Rumuolumeni axis of Port Harcourt metropolis for several days while activities in that area were paralysed. In fact, their grouse was an isolated case of disagreement between one tanker driver and a police team. Even PENGASSAN, last week, issued a 7-day ultimatum to some companies within Onne Export Free Zone to acceed to its demands or face industrial action that is likely to throw the state into another round of hardship.
If truth be told, the way members of both NUPENG and PENGASSAN view the relevance of their services to society and their willingness to use the withdrawal of such services to inflict pain on Nigerians, only portrays them as very selfish. We make this assertion because, if other essential service providers, like staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and healthcare service personnel withdrew their services at the slightest push, like NUPENG then our march towards accelerated development of the economy would be an illusion.
In view of the dangers inherent in monopoly which the NUPENG enjoys in the distribution of petroleum products by road haulage, it now becomes pertinent, more than ever before, for the Federal Government to do more towards reviving the railways as an alternative means of hauling petroleum products across the country and at cheaper cost. This is in addition to the need to build fuel depots in all major cities in order to have the products closer to the people, and also to help call the bluff of the NUPENG.
Beside easing distribution of petroleum products, effective rail system would drastically reduce the pressure on our roads, and make them safer for commuters across the country. More importantly, NUPENG and other unions, for that matter, should learn to obey the laws of the land as their recent action, which portrays them as a lawless group, is totally unacceptable.
There are moments in the life of a legislature when plain speaking becomes a public service. Senator Adams Oshiomhole provided such a moment on the floor of the Senate when he accused the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, of manifestly neglecting critical federal arteries in Edo and Delta States, and implored his colleagues to prevail on the Minister to adopt a more equitable and genuinely national approach to road infrastructure delivery. It was blunt, it was uncomfortable, and it was necessary.
The specifics of his complaint deserve restating. Drawing attention to the recent approval of some 20 new road projects despite the parlous state of existing ones, the former Edo State governor lamented that Nigerians cannot travel from Benin to Warri, Benin to Asaba, Benin to Auchi, or Auchi to Okene without encountering severe distress. He alleged a deliberate omission of these corridors from the national budget in the last three years, save for palliative interventions directed by President Bola Tinubu through tax credit arrangements. His question — “What have we done wrong?” — resonates far beyond the chambers of the National Assembly.
We lend our full and unequivocal support to that call. The Auchi-Benin Road, for instance, has been in a deplorable and near-impassable condition for several years, turning what should be a two-hour journey into an all-day ordeal of broken axles, extortionate fares, and despondent commuters. The media have, on multiple occasions, chronicled the suffering of motorists, traders, and students who ply that route. To describe it as a federal road today is to stretch the meaning of the term beyond recognition.
This pattern of sidelining is not confined to Edo or Delta. Even here in Rivers State, the disposition of the Federal Ministry of Works has left much to be desired, particularly along the Eleme axis of the East-West Road. That road, which ought to be a flagship of federal presence in the Niger Delta, has remained in a wretched state for long. Those who use it daily — workers at the Eleme Petrochemical Complex, the two refineries, Onne Port, and the countless ancillary industries — can attest to its deterioration. Work has proceeded in fits and starts without the sustained urgency such a strategic road demands.
The Eleme stretch is not a mere intra-state byway. It is the gateway to the nation’s economic jugular. According to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing’s 2023 Highway Condition Survey, only about 35 per cent of the country’s 36,000 kilometres of federal roads are rated as being in good or fair condition, with the remainder classified as poor or very poor. The East-West Road, conceived in the 1970s to bind the entire Niger Delta, remains unfinished in critical sections more than four decades after. If it had been treated as a priority, the perennial gridlock, carnage, and economic loss on the Eleme-Refinery junction would have long been consigned to history.
The irony is as painful as it is glaring. The Niger Delta remains the goose that lays the golden eggs. Data from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative [NEITI 2023 Oil and Gas Audit] show that the region still accounts for over 78 per cent of Nigeria’s federally collected export earnings and about 65 per cent of total government revenue. The National Bureau of Statistics [NBS Foreign Trade Report Q4 2024] similarly confirms that crude oil continues to dominate export receipts. By every metric of equity and economic logic, a region that sustains the national purse deserves first-rate consideration in the allocation of infrastructure, not afterthoughts and tokenism.
Road infrastructure is not largesse to be dispensed by favour; it is the skeleton upon which commerce, cohesion, and citizenship hang. When contracts are concentrated in one geopolitical zone while other zones are left to contend with craters, it erodes trust in the federation itself. The World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update [June 2023] estimated that poor transport connectivity inflates the cost of moving goods by up to 40 per cent and costs the Nigerian economy an estimated $1.5 billion annually in lost man-hours and vehicle maintenance. If we profess to be one country, then equity must be the compass that guides key institutions before any project is executed. Development must spread round, not pool in one place as though other regions do not matter.
There is also a grave security dimension that can no longer be ignored. The deplorable condition of federal roads has become a veritable enabler of criminality. The NBS Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey reported over 2.5 million incidents of kidnapping-related occurrences nationally, with transport workers identifying bad road spots as prime ambush points. When vehicles are forced to crawl at 10 kilometres per hour through failed sections at Auchi, Sapele Road, or Eleme, they become sitting ducks for armed gangs. Fixing bad roads, therefore, is not merely about convenience; it is about safeguarding lives.
By his intervention, Senator Oshiomhole has hit the nail on the head and reminded Minister Umahi of a fundamental constitutional truth: public office is held in trust. The Ministry of Works is not a personal estate where contracts are awarded according to whim or political convenience. It is a national institution funded by the collective resources of Nigerians, including the oil and gas rents from the very communities whose roads are now neglected. The Minister must demonstrate balance, transparency, and a pan-Nigerian outlook in the distribution of projects that impact the daily existence of citizens. Selective neglect breeds suspicion, and suspicion is corrosive at a time when the nation is preaching unity, oneness, equity, and justice.
Consequently, the National Assembly must go beyond rhetoric and assert its oversight powers with vigour. Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution [as amended] empower the legislature to investigate and expose any maladministration in the execution of federal projects. If an office holder is not acting rightly, it is the duty of the Senate and the House of Representatives to call him to order. Oversight must not be reduced to budget approval ceremonies; it must translate to field verification, public hearings, and insistence that the Federal Character principle, as enshrined in Section 14(3) of the Constitution, reflects in road awards.
Let the Auchi-Okene, Benin-Warri, Benin-Asaba, and Eleme East-West gangways be restored to motorable dignity. Let priority be given to completing existing, economically vital roads before embarking on new ones. If those who, through their resources, sustain the federation are sidelined in the distribution of tangible dividends, it tells poorly of our nationhood. Bad roads must be fixed, and they must be fixed now, with fairness as the guiding standard.
