KEY POINTS
- NUPENG alleges Dangote refinery is undermining unionization efforts and creating a management-backed alternative drivers’ association.
- The refinery’s nationwide CNG delivery program is criticized as a tactic to weaken union influence and stifle competition.
- The dispute highlights ongoing tensions over workers’ freedom of association and the need for government oversight in industrial relations.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has accused Dangote Petroleum Refinery of sponsoring divisions within its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch and obstructing workers’ right to unionize.
The union also criticized the refinery’s free nationwide fuel delivery program, describing it as a strategic move to weaken NUPENG and consolidate control over tanker drivers.
In a statement released Friday, NUPENG leaders—including National Executive President Williams Akporeha and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale—rejected a Thursday press release by the Dangote Group. The union called the release “an unconscionable capitalist falsehood” aimed at misleading the public and suppressing workers’ rights.
The dispute escalated after Dangote’s deployment of 4,000 compressed natural gas-powered trucks. NUPENG claimed newly recruited drivers were barred from joining the union, prompting depot shutdowns earlier this week that were only suspended after a Ministry of Labour-facilitated meeting. According to the union, the refinery later instructed drivers to replace NUPENG stickers with those of the newly formed Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA), allegedly created by management to fracture union solidarity.
Allegations of Parallel Structures and Strategic Manipulation
NUPENG accused the Dangote Group of attempting to sponsor alternative structures within the PTD branch since 2023, recruiting members who had lost union elections into the DTCDA. The union also linked some individuals supporting the refinery in the media to ongoing criminal cases.
“The so-called Greek gift of free nationwide petroleum delivery is not altruism; it is a strategy to stifle competition and force drivers into a company-controlled association,” the union said. NUPENG further highlighted a broader pattern, noting that Dangote’s cement and sugar plants reportedly restrict union activity, a practice it said is now being extended to refinery operations.
Despite Dangote’s public insistence that it supports constitutionally protected labor rights and that employees are free to join any recognized trade union, NUPENG warned Nigerians and the international community against attempts to deny refinery workers their freedom of association.
“Our solidarity remains constant, for the union makes us strong,” the statement concluded, underscoring the union’s commitment to safeguarding workers’ rights amid ongoing tensions.
