The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers suspended its two-day strike on Tuesday following a meeting with officials of the Federal Government and the Dangote Group, amid fuel supply disruptions in different locations across the country.
The National President of NUPENG, Williams Akporeha, confirmed this to one of our correspondents. After the failure of the Monday meeting, the Ministry of Labour summoned another meeting on Tuesday with more stakeholders in attendance.
Those in attendance included representatives of the Dangote Group led by Sayyu Dantata, officials of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and others. An agreement signed after the meeting showed that the Dangote refinery agreed to unionise its members.
“Following the threat to embark on industrial action by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers over the refusal of the management of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Limited to allow their employees to be unionised by registered labour unions, a conciliation meeting was held at the instance of the Minister of Labour and Employment, and it was revealed in the course of the meeting that:
“The management agreed with this fact and responded that they are not averse to the unionisation of their employees by labour unions in tandem with the provisions of the extant labour laws. After exhaustive deliberations, the following resolutions were reached by both parties: That since workers’ unionisation is a right in line with the provisions of the extant laws, the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals agreed to the unionisation of employees of Dangote Refinery and the unionisation of employees of Petrochemicals who are willing to unionise.
“That the process of unionisation shall commence immediately and be completed within two weeks (9th-22nd September, 2025), and it was agreed that the employer will not set up any other union.
Arising from the strike notice, no worker or employee of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical will be victimised,” the agreement read.
Parties are to revert to the Minister of Labour a week after the conclusion of the engagement. Based on the MoU, NUPENG agreed to suspend the industrial action with immediate effect.
The MoU was signed by Dangote’s Sayyu Dantata; NUPENG’s Akporeha and his Secretary, Afolabi Olawale; an official of the NMDPRA, OK Ukoha; a director of the labour ministry, Amos Falonipe; and representatives of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
However, as the strike entered the second day before its suspension on Tuesday, Nigerians in different parts of the country felt the impact as many filling stations were shut. NUPENG had on Friday declared its intention to stop loading fuel this week over allegations that the Dangote refinery planned to ban the drivers recruited for its 4,000 trucks from joining the union.
Recall that the Dangote refinery planned to start direct fuel distribution from August 15 with its 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks. But the scheme was delayed due to a lack of enough ships to bring the trucks to Nigeria. While the refinery is still receiving the trucks as they arrive in Nigeria, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch of NUPENG accused the refinery management of anti-labour practices for not allowing its drivers to join the union.
They also accused Alhaji Aliko Dangote of plans to render them useless with his direct fuel distribution scheme. NUPENG President Akporeha on Sunday confirmed that the Federal Government had reached out to the union on the need to avert the strike, but he refused to call off the strike.
Following the inability of the Federal Government to broker peace between NUPENG and the Dangote refinery at the Monday conciliation meeting organised by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, the union continued the strike, shutting down depots and some filling stations. The suspension of the strike later in the evening was a relief in areas where its impact was felt.
In states like Cross River and Kaduna, many filling stations were under lock and key on Tuesday, while some adjusted pump prices in Sokoto and Enugu. It was also gathered that vehicle owners engaged in panic buying in parts of Lagos and Ogun States.
The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, told The PUNCH that “PETROAN members joined the strike on Tuesday, as the Monday meeting with the labour minister yielded no result.” Gillis-Harry, who described the strike as a looming danger, however, appreciated the Federal Government for its prompt intervention.
Fuel supply disruptions
In Calabar, the capital of Cross River, commuters and residents lamented the hike in fares following the fuel scarcity in the state on Tuesday. Commuters said that the fuel scarcity triggered a hike in transport fares, leaving many commuters stranded and frustrated.
Explaining how the fuel scarcity affected transport costs, a resident, Mary Archibong, said, “The fuel scarcity has affected everyone in one way or another. Before now, from Watt to Calabar Roundabout, it used to be N300, but now it’s N500. It is very bad because the drivers are now buying from the black market at N1,500 per litre,” she said.
It was learnt commercial activities in Kaduna were on Tuesday crippled as the now-suspended strike forced major filling stations in the metropolis to shut down their operations. A visit to several parts of the state capital revealed that virtually all major filling stations had locked their gates, leaving motorists and residents stranded.
At the Barnawa area in Kaduna South Local Government Area, Future View Filling Station and the NNPC Mega Filling Station along Aliyu Makama Road were under lock and key. Residents expressed frustration as the strike entered its first day. “I drove around for over an hour looking for fuel. Nowhere is selling,” lamented Musa Lawal, a commercial tricycle operator.
The situation was the same across other parts of the city. At the busy Station Roundabout, the AA Rano and Shema filling stations remained shut, while at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium Roundabout, Total, MRS, and the NNPC Mega Station all closed shop. The stations were deserted.
Similarly, the Total and Mobil filling stations along Ahmadu Bello Way and Muhammadu Buhari Way (formerly WAFF Road) were not dispensing fuel when our correspondent visited.
Some motorists who managed to find fuel at smaller independent stations complained of arbitrary price hikes. A motorist, Sani Ibrahim, told The PUNCH that he bought fuel at N950 per litre, up from N860 the previous day.
In Enugu, commuters were stranded on Tuesday due to fuel scarcity. Many petrol stations closed shops at noon. Motorists were unable to access petrol, so they were left idling on major roads, while some resorted to black-market vendors charging up to N1,500 per litre.
It was observed that busy roads such as Ogui Junction, Abakpa Junction, IMT, Emene, and Holy Ghost were unusually scanty on Tuesday, with few vehicles moving around to pick passengers. The strike led to immediate fare hikes . Buses raised fares from N300 to N500 from Garriki to New Market.
The PUNCH reports that there were long queues in many filling stations across Anambra State on Tuesday, resulting in the sharp increase in transportation fares for both interstate and intrastate movement. The queues built up in some parts of Onitsha, Awka and Nnewi, as only a few filling stations were seen dispensing the product.
As a result, commuters had a hectic time going to their various destinations as commercial transport operators hiked transport fares by over 50 per cent. Many motorists hiked their fares as a result of the development. It was observed that a journey of N200 cost as much as N400, while that of N300 became N600.
In Gombe, fuel prices climbed to between N910 and N1,000 per litre. At a filling station along Gombe-Bauchi Road, an attendant, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the increment, saying marketers were reacting to “uncertain developments in the sector.”
He added, “We are still selling because supply is steady, but once depots are locked, the price will go up further. That is why our managers adjusted the pump price early.” Meanwhile, there was not much impact felt in states like Jos, Kano, Zamfara and Ilorin. There was a marginal price increase in Sokoto State.
Speaking on national television earlier on Tuesday, the NUPENG boss, Akporeha, said the union had no choice but to press on with industrial action after Dangote’s management rejected recognised oil and gas unions and allegedly claimed to have a separate association for its workers.
Akporeha alleged that the representative of the Dangote refinery, Dantata, walked out of the Monday meeting when the labour minister told him that the Dangote refinery could not have a separate union for its workforce. The labour leader alleged that the Dangote refinery created an alternative drivers’ association to weaken NUPENG, describing the move as illegal.
He insisted that the law only recognised existing unions such as NUPENG, PENGASSAN and others in the oil and gas sector. While clarifying that strike action was a legitimate industrial tool, Akporeha stressed that dialogue remained open.
“Strikes are part of industrial relations. But under my leadership, it has never been the first option, but no employer has the right to enslave workers,” he said. He dismissed allegations that NUPENG was attempting to sabotage the refinery or frustrate local production.
“Everybody wants Dangote to succeed, including NUPENG. But he must play by the rules. Nigeria cannot afford investors who act like dictators or slave drivers,” he said. On Monday, depots and filling stations were also closed by NUPENG members. The Aradel refinery in Obele, Port Harcourt, was shut. The Kwale Hydrocarbon facility in Delta State was shut.
Checks by one of our correspondents confirmed that activities at petroleum depots were paralysed across the country. NUPENG officials visited the depots on Monday and the early hours of Tuesday to enforce compliance. In various states across the country, especially those in Lagos and Warri, Delta State, drivers parked their trucks to wait for the next directive as far as fuel lifting was concerned.
Our correspondent reports that NUPENG officials shut down some depots to prevent the movement of trucks. The National President of NUPENG, Williams Akporeha, told our correspondent that there was “100 per cent compliance across the nation.” Some members of the union accused Dangote and MRS of having plans to take over their jobs with the recruitment of new drivers.
At Aiteo, RainOil, Shell+, First Royal, MAO, Hensmor, One Terminals, Africa Terminals, Integrated Oil and Gas, and other depots in Lagos, the gates were locked as workers stayed away to comply with the strike action. Also, A&E, Matrix, Parker AY Shafa, and other depots in Warri joined the strike on Monday. The PUNCH reports that with the suspension of the industrial action, loading of fuel is expected to resume on Wednesday.
(Additional reports by: Raphael Ede, Ikenna Obianeri, Chima Azubuike, James Abraham, Hussaini Ibrahim, Maiharaji Altine, Animasahun Salman, and Dare Akogun)
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