The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has declared that it will proceed with its planned strike beginning today (Monday), despite the Federal Government’s intervention aimed at averting the industrial action.
NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, confirmed that although government officials have reached out to the union to prevent the shutdown, the strike would still commence while discussions continue.
The strike threat, first announced on Friday, follows the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s plan to import 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks to distribute fuel directly to retailers. The project, which was initially meant to begin in August, faced delays due to logistics issues in China. However, the refinery disclosed that operations would begin as soon as the trucks arrive in substantial numbers.
In a statement signed by Akporeha and NUPENG’s General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, the union accused the Dangote refinery of anti-labour practices that threaten the livelihoods of petroleum tanker drivers. According to NUPENG, the refinery insists that the new truck drivers will not be allowed to join any union—a move the union described as a violation of workers’ constitutional rights and international labour standards.
The union explained that several meetings had been held with the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners to persuade Dangote to reconsider, but all appeals were ignored. Tensions heightened when MRS Oil, owned by Dangote’s cousin, Sayyu Dantata, allegedly began recruiting drivers for the CNG trucks and compelled them to sign undertakings preventing union membership.
As a result, NUPENG vowed that its members would stop fuel loading nationwide from Monday if the matter is not resolved, warning that it would not fold its arms while jobs are being threatened.
In an attempt to calm the situation, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, announced that a conciliation meeting had been scheduled in Abuja today with all concerned parties. He appealed to NUPENG to suspend its strike and urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to withdraw the solidarity notice it had issued.
Dingyadi cautioned that a shutdown in the petroleum sector would cause widespread hardship, disrupt economic activities, and lead to heavy revenue losses. He assured Nigerians that the government would work to secure a resolution that satisfies both the union and the refinery.
No Going Back
Despite the government’s intervention, Akporeha insisted that the strike would commence as planned. “The Federal Government and NNPC have reached out, but nothing concrete has been achieved yet. The meeting will hold in Abuja, but the strike starts Monday morning as scheduled,” he said.
Marketers Join In
Petroleum product marketers have also announced their readiness to shut down filling stations if the strike begins. The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, said the association would suspend operations from Tuesday, September 9, in solidarity with tanker drivers and to promote fair competition in the downstream sector.
He emphasized that some PETROAN staff are NUPENG members, and once they withdraw services, stations cannot function. He instructed filling station owners not to punish or sack attendants absent during the strike.
Gillis-Harry warned that the Dangote refinery’s business model could push private depot owners, modular refinery operators, marketers, truck owners, and drivers out of business, leading to mass unemployment and economic instability.
Union Disowns Rival Group
NUPENG dismissed a statement credited to the so-called Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA), which claimed the union had no authority to speak for tanker drivers. The union alleged that the DTCDA was a creation of Dangote’s management, set up to weaken NUPENG’s influence.
It described the association’s president, Enoch Kanawa, as a lawyer and not a tanker driver, insisting there is no division within its ranks. NUPENG accused Dangote and Dantata of forming Direct Trucking Company Limited as the recruitment agency for the 4,000 CNG trucks.
The union condemned such practices, comparing them to modern-day slavery, and urged Nigerians to reject policies that deny workers the right to association.
Labour and Civil Society Reactions
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, described Dangote’s anti-union policies as crude and dangerous, promising to mobilise support for NUPENG if necessary.
Prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), also weighed in, warning that Dangote’s policy violates the Constitution, the Trade Union Act, ILO conventions, and several international treaties ratified by Nigeria. He urged the Registrar of Trade Unions and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to step in, stressing that monopolistic practices and anti-union policies cannot be tolerated.
Falana reminded the government that Nigerian workers fought and won the right to unionise even under colonial rule and declared support for NUPENG’s industrial action.
Meanwhile, the Economic Rights Activists (ERA) group called for suspension of the strike, describing it as reckless and harmful to ordinary Nigerians. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, ERA’s Executive Director, Dr. Josiah Inuwa, warned that the strike would raise transport fares, increase food prices, cripple small businesses, and worsen inflation.
He argued that the strike would hurt ordinary citizens more than corporate bodies and alleged that vested interests may be using unions to sabotage Nigeria’s efforts at fuel self-sufficiency through the Dangote Refinery.
ERA urged all parties to return to the negotiation table, called on the National Assembly to investigate possible sabotage by fuel import cartels, and appealed to the government to stand firm while ensuring worker grievances are fairly addressed.
