The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria have urged President Bola Tinubu and other relevant authorities to step in over the escalating rift between the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the Dangote Refinery.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, meanwhile, has also waded into the matter, accusing the refinery of what it described as anti-labour practices.
The brewing conflict
NUPENG had on Friday announced that its members would down tools from Monday, September 8, unless the issues were resolved.
The disagreement stems from the refinery’s plan to import 4,000 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered trucks for direct product distribution. Although the rollout, initially slated for August 15, was delayed due to logistics bottlenecks in China, the refinery said the scheme would take off once a sufficient number of trucks arrived.
However, in a statement signed by its President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, NUPENG alleged that the refinery was bent on adopting measures that would displace members of its Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch.
The union accused Aliko Dangote of insisting that drivers recruited for the new trucks would not be allowed to join any union an action it said violated workers’ constitutional rights and breached international labour conventions.
It noted that several appeals, including those jointly made with the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, were ignored.
Matters reportedly escalated when MRS, owned by Dangote’s cousin, Sayyu Aliu Dantata, began hiring drivers for the CNG trucks while allegedly compelling them to sign agreements barring membership in oil and gas unions.
As a result, NUPENG threatened to halt fuel loading nationwide from Monday if the impasse persisted.
PETROAN and IPMAN seek dialogue
PETROAN National President, Billy Gillis-Harry, warned that the looming strike would be dangerous and urged immediate intervention.
He said, “PETROAN’s 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.”
According to him, the concerns raised by NUPENG were valid.
“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 the President, the National Security Advisor, the IG, the DSS, to intervene and quickly bring everybody to the roundtable before 12noon or before 12, on Monday, so that we can discuss it.
“You know, we shouldn’t listen to people who are on the side supporting or not supporting the decision. It’s a looming danger, and we in PETROAN already understand the dynamics of the difficulties that will come. This is what we have been shouting since the month of January or so, when we started talking about issues that will be tantamount to anti-competitive tendencies,” he said.
IPMAN National President, Abubakar Maigandi, also confirmed that efforts were underway to reconcile both sides.
He said, “We are still appealing to the NUPENG members and Dangote to see how they can reconcile their differences.
“I cannot really say what the implication of the tanker drivers’ strike may be for now. We can only appeal to them to make peace with the other party.
“With work resuming fully on Monday, we will see how we can talk to the tanker drivers. I am sure we will then really hear what is going on.”
NLC throws weight behind strike
In a strongly worded statement on Saturday, NLC President Joe Ajaero backed NUPENG’s position, describing Dangote’s approach as “crude and dangerous.”
The congress alleged that the group had a history of similar disputes across its operations in cement, sugar, and flour, pointing to a systemic disregard for workers’ rights.
“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,” it said.
It further accused the group of offering some of the lowest wages in the sector, suppressing union membership, casualising jobs, and creating unsafe conditions.
The NLC also raised concerns over the group’s recruitment of foreign workers while many Nigerians remained unemployed.
“The attack on NUPENG is an attack on us all. Nigerian workers are not slaves and cannot be serially abused without consequences,” the statement added.
“If Dangote continues on this reckless anti-union path, we will confront this tyranny head-on until victory is secured for Nigerian workers and the Nigerian people.”
The congress said it had placed unions nationwide on red alert and would support NUPENG’s strike if the refinery failed to yield.
South-West IPMAN vows shutdown
In solidarity, the IPMAN Western Zone Chairman, Oyewole Akanni, said members in the region were ready to join the strike, stressing that Dangote’s involvement in distribution posed threats to thousands of existing tanker drivers.
“The strike is in solidarity with NUPENG over job security concerns for petroleum tanker drivers,” he said.
Akanni also argued that the refinery’s foray into distribution violated the Petroleum Industry Act, which bars refiners from directly distributing products.
“This is a flagrant disobedience of the law guiding operations in the downstream sector,” he warned.
Drivers group distances itself
However, the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association rejected the planned strike, saying it had to clarify issues to protect the rights of drivers across sectors.
In a statement by its National President, Enoch Kanawa, the association noted that its coverage extended to both wet and dry cargo drivers, including those employed by Dangote and MRS.
Kanawa stressed that drivers should be free to decide where their interests were best served.
“Any person who is licensed to drive a heavy-duty vehicle should be mature enough, physically, mentally, and emotionally, to discern which organisation can best serve his or her own interests.
“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,” the statement read in part.
Efforts to get comments from Dangote Refinery on Saturday were unsuccessful.