The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria have asked President Bola Tinubu and other stakeholders to intervene in the dispute between the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the Dangote Refinery.
But the Nigeria Labour Congress, while also calling for urgent intervention in the stand-off, accused the Dangote refinery of anti-labour practices.
The dispute
This comes after NUPENG said on Friday that it would begin industrial action on Monday, September 8.
The dispute revolves around Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s plan to import 4,000 compressed natural gas-powered trucks for direct fuel distribution to retailers.
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Although the scheme, scheduled to begin on August 15, was delayed by logistics challenges in China, the refinery said it would kick off once a substantial number of the trucks arrived.
But in a statement jointly signed by its President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, on Friday, NUPENG accused the Dangote Refinery of anti-labour practices that threatened the livelihoods of its Petroleum and Tanker Drivers branch members.
The union lamented that the refinery’s owner, Aliko Dangote, had insisted that new drivers for the imported trucks would not be allowed to join any union.
It described the decision as an affront on freedom of association guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution, and a breach of international labour conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory.
NUPENG recalled that it had held several meetings, alongside the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, to persuade Dangote to reconsider.
However, its appeals were allegedly ignored.
Matters escalated last Friday when MRS, owned by Dangote’s cousin, Sayyu Aliu Dantata, reportedly began recruiting drivers for the CNG trucks, compelling them to sign undertakings not to belong to any oil and gas union.
The union said it could not stand by while jobs were being eroded.
NUPENG said its members would stop fuel loading nationwide from Monday, September 8, if the situation remained unresolved.
PETROAN, IPMAN seek truce
The PETROAN’s National President, Billy Gillis-Harry, described the impending strike as a looming danger, asking that it should be prevented.
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.”
Gillis-Harry said a single company should not dominate the value chain.
“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 added.
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the IPMAN National President, Abubakar Maigandi, said oil marketers were working towards reconciling the parties and would continue the engagement on Monday.
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 backs strike
In a statement on Saturday, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said Labour had examined NUPENG’s petition and described the Dangote Group’s practices as “crude and dangerous.”
The NLC added that similar complaints had been raised by other unions representing workers across the group’s wide-ranging operations, including cement, sugar, and flour, suggesting a broader pattern of labour disputes.
“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,” the NLC said.
It accused the petroleum company of paying some of the lowest wages in the oil and gas sector, denying employees their right to join trade unions of their choice, and promoting casualisation and unsafe working conditions.
The NLC further criticised the group’s alleged preference for hiring foreign nationals over qualified Nigerians, citing past recruitment of welders and fitters from India while capable Nigerians remained unemployed.
The congress said such practices amounted to exploitation and monopolistic control, contrary to the promises of industrialisation, job creation, and national development associated with the Dangote Refinery project.
Highlighting the national significance, the NLC warned that if left unchecked, the anti-union policies could set a dangerous precedent, allowing powerful corporations to flout Nigerian labour laws and international conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining.
The congress announced several measures, including placing Nigerian workers and unions on red alert, mobilising a united front against the Dangote Group’s labour practices, and supporting NUPENG’s proposed industrial action if the refinery did not relent.
It called on the Federal Government and regulatory agencies, including the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, to intervene and ensure compliance with labour laws.
“The attack on NUPENG is an attack on us all. Nigerian workers are not slaves and cannot be serially abused without consequences,” the NLC statement said.
“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.”
South-West IPMAN ready for strike
The IPMAN Western Zone Chairman, Oyewole Akanni, affirmed the readiness of the association to shut down operations from the said date.
This decision, he said, followed a zonal council meeting attended by members, officers, depot chairmen, and secretaries across the South-West.
“The strike is in solidarity with NUPENG over job security concerns for petroleum tanker drivers,” he said.
Akanni warned that Dangote Refinery and MRS Energy’s entry into petrol distribution could jeopardise over 4,000 trucks operated by IPMAN members and threaten thousands of jobs.
“More importantly, such a move also negates the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, which prohibits a company refining crude oil from directly engaging in product distribution. This is a flagrant disobedience of the law guiding operations in the downstream sector,” he added.
Akanni called on the Federal Government to uphold the Petroleum Industry Act, vowing resistance to any monopoly in the sector.
Drivers association rejects strike
But the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association rejected the planned strike, stating that it was necessary to clarify matters for the public and protect the rights of drivers.
In a statement signed by its National President, Enoch Kanawa, the group clarified that it was an organisation covering drivers in both wet and dry cargo sectors, including Dangote and MRS drivers.
The association stressed its commitment to driver welfare, road safety, education, and transparent governance, while maintaining that it would not interfere with other organisations’ operations.
Kanawa said, “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 reach the Dangote refinery proved abortive on Saturday.
(Punch)
