The fragile peace between the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery has collapsed, raising fears of fresh fuel supply disruptions.
The dispute follows allegations by NUPENG that the refinery’s management reneged on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on September 9 at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters in Abuja. The agreement, witnessed by Labour Minister Muhammadu Dingyadi, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other agencies, affirmed the rights of petroleum tanker drivers to freely unionise.
NUPENG President Williams Akporeha accused Sayyu Aliu Dantata, a cousin of Aliko Dangote who oversees the refinery’s trucking operations, of flouting the deal. He alleged that within 48 hours, drivers were ordered to remove NUPENG stickers from their vehicles, while security forces were mobilised to intimidate union officials.
“His wealth cannot place him above the law,” Akporeha said in a statement. “Security agencies should not be used against workers when agreements reached under their supervision are being violated.”
The union has since placed members on “red alert” for a possible nationwide strike, suspended earlier in the week after the MoU was signed. NUPENG’s General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, further alleged that Dangote’s management planned to tow away vehicles deployed by the union to enforce compliance at refinery gates.
The row stems from accusations that the refinery and MRS, owned by Dantata, sought to bar drivers of its 4,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks from joining unions—an act NUPENG described as a breach of Nigeria’s Constitution and global labour standards. The refinery’s CNG distribution scheme, delayed since August due to logistics issues in China, is now expected to begin before year-end.
The confrontation had earlier triggered a nationwide strike on September 8, shutting down depots and filling stations before government intervention produced the short-lived truce.
Fuel marketers are urging restraint. Billy Gillis-Harry, president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), warned that any attempt to renege on the deal could trigger fresh scarcity.
“All parties must respect the terms and spirit of the MoU,” he said, commending President Bola Tinubu’s administration for stepping in to avert an earlier crisis.
