By Victor Ahiuma-Young

LAGOS—NATIONAL Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, yesterday, directed members across the country to halt diesel supply to all plants and sites of one of the nation’s GSM providers, MTN, over alleged N645 million debt to members by an MTN’s contractor.

A similarly action was to have been taken by the oil workers on September 20, but for the quick intervention of Lagos lawyer and activist, Mr. Femi Falana, whom the union said it had great respect for.

Vanguard however, gathered yesterday that the lawyer’s intervention over a week ago brought no solution to the crisis.

The oil workers union is claiming that its Oil and Gas Supply, OGS, branch members were contracted by Private Network Nigeria, PNN, Limited, a contractor to MTN, to supply them diesel valued at about N645 million which they have refused to pay for over a year.

However, MTN’s management said it should not be held responsible for PNN’s crime, saying, “we cannot be held responsible for disputes between our contractor and parties unknown to us in law and fact.”