The Federal Government of Nigeria has intervened in the dispute between the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Dangote Refinery, calling for a reconciliation meeting.
The move arose as NUPENG announced plans to begin a nationwide strike from Monday, September 8, 2025, in response to the refinery’s alleged prevention of its compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker drivers from joining labour unions.
It could be recalled that Dangote Refinery had planned to import 4,000 CNG-powered trucks for direct fuel distribution to filling stations all over the country.
The development, earlier scheduled to kick off on 15th August 2025, was said to have suffered a setback owing to logistics issues experienced in China.
But the refinery later announced that in spite of the delay, implementation of the policy will commence as soon as a substantial number of the tankers arrived.
While NUPENG claimed that the Dangote refinery policy would erode jobs and undermine workers’ rights, the union had threatened to start an industrial action, citing the refinery’s alleged anti-labour practices as its reasons.
In a statement jointly signed by its President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, on Friday, NUPENG accused the Dangote Refinery of anti-labour practices that threatened the livelihoods of its Petroleum and Tanker Drivers branch members.
The union lamented that the refinerys owner, Aliko Dangote, had insisted that new drivers for the imported trucks would not be allowed to join any union.
It described the decision as an affront on freedom of association guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution and a breach of international labour conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory.
NUPENG recalled that it had held several meetings, alongside the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, to persuade Dangote to reconsider the position of his company all to no avail.
Matters escalated last Friday when MRS, owned by Dangotes cousin, Sayyu Aliu Dantata, reportedly began recruiting drivers for the CNG trucks, and compelling them to sign undertakings not to belong to any oil and gas union.
NUPENG said its members would stop fuel loading nationwide from Monday, September 8, if the situation remained unresolved.
In a swift move to save the impending calamity, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, convened a conciliation meeting for Monday with all parties involved, urging NUPENG to suspend its strike plans.
Dingyadi emphasised the importance of the petroleum sector to the Nigerian economy and warned that a strike would inflict hardship on citizens and lead to heavy revenue losses.
“I plead with NUPENG to rescind their decision to shut down the petroleum sector from tomorrow. I also appeal to the NLC to withdraw the red alert it issued to its affiliate unions to be on standby for a nationwide strike in solidarity with NUPENG.”
While NUPENG remained resolute in its decision to strike, other stakeholders have expressed mixed views.
The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) have stated that they would not join the strike, while the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has announced plans to suspend lifting and dispensing petroleum products for three days in support of NUPENG.
The government is optimistic that the dispute could be resolved amicably to ensure no disruption occurred in the petroleum sector. The meeting aimed to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict, balancing the interests of all parties involved.
