From Victor Osula, Abuja
Fuel scarcity looms in Nigeria as the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has notified the government of its plan to begin a nationwide strike from Monday, September 8, 2025, in protest against what it described as anti-union labour practices by Dangote Refinery in deploying newly imported Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, to distribute fuel across the country.
The union’s National President, Prince Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, said the Refinery’s plan failed to accommodate the interest of tanker drivers in the union, thereby rendering them redundant.
According to the NUPENG leaders, the wider implications of the Refinery’s deployment of that 10,000 imported trucks for nationwide distribution of petroleum and diesel products initially appeared to be a welcome investment in the downstream sector, but it has raised questions among stakeholders, including the National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, about its wider implications.
To resolve the feared implication, Akporeha and Olawale said NUPENG and NARTO requested a meeting with Aliko Dangote, which was held on June 23, 2025, with Alhaji Sayyu Dantata representing him. At that meeting, the union stated that it was informed the trucks would be operated under a new arrangement that excluded existing trade unions.
According to NUPENG, the recruitment of drivers for the trucks began on August 29, 2025, and the applicants were reportedly required to sign undertakings not to join existing unions in the oil and gas industry. The union described this as contrary to established labour rights.
“The recruitment being carried out on the condition of not joining existing unions is a matter of serious concern to us. This requirement does not align with Nigeria’s Constitution, labour legislation, or international conventions on freedom of association.”
NUPENG cited Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of association, as well as Section 9(6) of the Labour Act, which prohibits penalising workers for joining or not joining unions.
It further referenced Nigeria’s ratification of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 87 on the freedom of association, stressing that the convention is binding and enforceable under Section 254C(2) of the Constitution.
“As General Secretary of NUPENG, my duty is to protect the welfare of our members,” Olawale said, adding that, “Dangote’s Refinery’s intention is to throw out workers into unemployment, many of whom had been doing that work for over 40 years. This is unjust, unfair and unconstitutional.”
NUPENG called on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to exercise its statutory powers under Section 32 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to promote competition and prevent restrictive practices in the petroleum sector.
They said the strike would go on as planned because despite repeated efforts to engage both government agencies and the companies involved, no satisfactory resolution had been reached.
“Having exhausted all available avenues of dialogue, we are left with no option but to embark on a nationwide industrial action beginning Monday, September 8, 2025,” the union declared.
NUPENG assured the public that the strike was not intended to create hardship but to safeguard workers’ rights and ensure a fair and competitive downstream petroleum industry. They appealed to Nigerians for understanding and called on other labour organisations, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), to show solidarity.
They also advised members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch of NUPENG had already been advised to begin seeking alternative employment or skills training if the matter was not resolved.
