September 08, (THEWILL) — The Federal Government will hold a scheduled meeting with the management of Dangote Group and the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, today in a bid to avert the union’s planned nationwide strike over alleged anti-union practices of the private refinery.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Muhammad Dingyadi on Sunday appealed to NUPENG to reconsider its decision, warning that shutting down the petroleum sector would severely cripple the economy and worsen the hardship faced by Nigerians.
Conveying the minister’s statement, Ms Patience Onuobia, Head of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, said, “I have intervened in this matter and invited all the parties involved for a conciliation meeting.
“The petroleum sector is the core of our economy. Even a day’s strike will cause heavy revenue losses, running into billions and bring untold hardship to Nigerians.”
Giving assurance to the public that the dispute between NUPENG and the Dangote Group over unionisation rights would be resolved peacefully to avoid any disruption in the vital oil and gas industry, Dingyadi appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to withdraw its red alert directing affiliate unions to prepare for solidarity action with petroleum workers.
“I plead with the unions to give peace a chance. This matter will be resolved amicably, to the satisfaction of all parties involved,” he said.
On Friday, September 5, 2025 NUPENG’s President, Williams Akporeha and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, issued a notice of its impending strike for Monday September 8, 2025, in protest over alleged Dangote Refinery’s anti-labour practices that threatened the jobs of members of its chapter of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association.
Dangote Refinery recently announced plans to start direct fuel distribution nationwide, following the importation of 4,000 compressed natural gas-powered trucks.
Matters reached a head on Friday when the union dismissed a threat by the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association, DTCDA, whose National President, Enock Kanawa, stated that its members would not participate in the strike, but inadvertently disclosed that Dangote and MRS drivers were part of its association.
“The DTCDA is in full support of the deregulation of the downstream sector of the Nigerian economy and the Renewed Hope agenda of Mr President, of which our members are poised to play an integral role in the distribution of goods and services throughout the country,” Kanawa said.
On Sunday, NUPENG dismissed the DTCDA threat, saying the association is an arm of MRS and Dangote Group. It insisted on going ahead with the planned strike.
“For the information of the public, the DTCDA is the association which the Dangote Group of Companies has formed for the drivers to join compulsorily rather than allowing them to join NUPENG, which is the only statutorily recognised union authorised to unionise petrol tanker drivers,” Olawale said.
This turn of event forced the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, PETROAN, IPMAN and human rights lawyer Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, to take a position on the dispute between NUPENG and Dangote Group.
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, on Sunday appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority stakeholders to mediate the full-blown dispute between the union and the refinery.
National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, said, “Our position is that we are calling on the President, the authority chief of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, to mediate and ensure that the strike action does not take place as planned.
“We are saying that the worries of NUPENG and PTD are correct, because you cannot wake up and just come and take off the value from the union with the kind of capacity that you have. You don’t want to give anti-competitive values, even in the welfare of workers. So, PETROAN’s position is that we are calling on President Bola Tinubu, the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Security, to intervene and quickly bring everybody to the roundtable before 12 noon or before 12 on Monday so that we can discuss it.”
The Western Zone Chairman of IPMAN, Oyewole Akanni, expressed solidarity with NUPENG and the organisation’s readiness to shut down operations.
“The strike is in solidarity with NUPENG over job security concerns for petroleum tanker drivers,” he said.
Similarly, Femi Falana, SAN, on Sunday, said the Dangote Group’s policy violates Section 40 of the Constitution, Section 12 of the Trade Union Act, and Article 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) of the International Labour Organisation, as well as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all of which Nigeria is a signatory.
He said, “In view of the legal obligations imposed on the Federal Government of Nigeria by the Constitution, Trade Union Act and international law to respect the fundamental rights of workers to freedom of association, the Registrar of Trade Unions should call Dangote Petroleum Refinery to order without delay.
“At the same time, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should halt the monopolistic practices of the Dangote Group forthwith, as they violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 2018.
Earlier on Saturday, NLC President, Joe Ajaero accused the Dangote Group of flouting labour laws across its subsidiaries, including cement and sugar.
“The revelations contained in NUPENG’s statement represent not just an attack on petroleum workers but a full-blown declaration of war against trade unionism and the principle of decent work,” Ajaero said.
NLC expressed solidarity with NUPENG and urged affiliate unions to be on alert for mobilisation against “the Dangote Group’s labour practices, and supporting NUPENG’s proposed industrial action if the refinery did not relent.”
It warned: “If left unchecked, the anti-union policies could set a dangerous precedent, allowing powerful corporations to flout Nigerian labour laws and international conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining.”
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