Friday, September 12, 2025 - Barely 48 hours after the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) suspended its strike, the union has alleged that the management of the Dangote Refinery had reneged on the resolutions reached.
In a statement jointly signed on Thursday, September 10, by
its President and General Secretary, Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale,
respectively, NUPENG threatened to resume the suspended industrial action
following an alleged breach of the agreement reached with the oil firm, the
Federal Government, and all truck drivers who are members of NUPENG-PTD.
“We are by this statement placing all our members on red
alert for the resumption of the suspended nationwide industrial action and
calling on the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade 1 Support Our Dream Union
Congress, all regional and global working people, and civil society
organisations to rise in support and solidarity against this threat of the
capitalist world,” NUPENG stated.
The union claimed that at a meeting convened by the
State Security Services (SSS), otherwise known as the Department of State
Services (DSS) and attended by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and
representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the management of Dangote
Refinery and Petrochemicals agreed to the unionisation of its employees.
It further stated that, notwithstanding the resolution
reached and signed at the office of the DSS on unionisation of the workers,
truck drivers who were NUPENG-PTD members for several years were ordered to
remove the union’s stickers from their trucks yesterday.
The statement partly read, “We call on the Federal
Government not to allow the Navy and other security agents who are paid by the
resources of this country to be used with impunity against the laws and people
of this country.
“Security agents should not allow an individual to ride
roughshod with impunity, even while not observing terms of agreement reached in
meetings in which security agents facilitated, along with ministers of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The union had suspended its strike on Tuesday following an
agreement with the management of Dangote Refinery to recognise workers’ rights
to unionise.
The deal was reached at a closed-door meeting convened by
the SSS and attended by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and representatives
of the Nigeria Labour Congress.
Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah, confirmed the outcome, while the Ministry of Labour said it would issue a formal statement.
The resolution followed a conciliation meeting convened by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment on Monday, September 8, 2025, after NUPENG threatened to embark on a strike over the company’s initial refusal to recognise workers’ union rights.
The Dangote refinery announced that it would commence the
free direct supply of petrol across the country on September 15.
The refinery announced the development in a post on
its X page on Thursday.
According to the post, the scheme will begin in 11 states,
adding that the refinery will “subsequently expand our operations into other
states”.
The plant said the product would be sold at an ex-gantry
price of N820 per litre
Dangote Refinery listed the states to include Lagos, Ogun,
Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Abuja, Delta, Rivers, Edo, and Kwara states.
According to the refinery, petrol will be delivered to
retail outlets in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti at N841 per litre,
while the product will be sold for N851 per litre in Abuja, Delta, Rivers, Edo,
and Kwara states.
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“All petrol station owners nationwide are invited to
register for free delivery and other benefits,” the post reads.
On June 15, Dangote Refinery announced its acquisition of
4,000 new compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered tankers to enhance its fuel
distribution capacity across the country.
The refinery, on June 29, said its nationwide petroleum
products distribution scheme would save Nigerians over N1.7 trillion annually.
Analysts said the fuel distribution could benefit the end
users, but it might negatively impact the downstream sector.
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