Fuel scarcity looms as NUPENG accuses Dangote refinery of breaching agreement

The truce between the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the $20billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery has collapsed, igniting a fierce industrial dispute that threatens fuel supply stability.

The confrontation follows allegations by NUPENG that the Dangote Group reneged on a Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this week, under which the refinery agreed to allow tanker drivers and other workers to freely unionise.

On Thursday, NUPENG’s National President, Williams Akporeha, accused Sayyu Aliu Dantata, a cousin of Aliko Dangote and key player in the refinery’s trucking operations, of defying the resolution reached on September 9 at the Department of State Services headquarters in Abuja.

The meeting, mediated by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, affirmed the rights of Petroleum Tanker Drivers under NUPENG to unionise. Representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, DSS, and other agencies witnessed the signing of the MoU.

But Akporeha alleged that within 48 hours, Dantata ordered drivers to strip NUPENG stickers from their vehicles and forcefully enter the refinery in violation of union loading procedures.

“Alhaji Sayyu Aliu Dantata flew over them several times with his helicopter and then called the navy of the Federal Republic to come over ostensibly to crush the union officials. Our members are waiting for him and his agents to run them over,” Akporeha said in a statement.

The union condemned what it described as Dantata’s “impunity” and warned the Federal Government not to allow security agencies funded by taxpayers to be used against workers.

“His wealth cannot make him above the law. Security agents should not allow an individual to ride roughshod even while not observing terms of agreement reached in meetings in which they themselves facilitated,” Akporeha added.

NUPENG’s leadership placed members on “red alert” for the possible resumption of a nationwide strike, suspended earlier in the week when the MoU was signed. The union also called on the NLC, TUC, civil society organisations, and international labour allies to rise in solidarity.

On Thursday evening, NUPENG’s General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, alleged that the Dangote management was planning to use towing trucks to remove vehicles used by the union to block non-compliant trucks. In response, NUPENG reportedly reinforced its blockade at the refinery gates.

The row began when NUPENG accused the refinery of attempting to bar drivers of its 4,000 compressed natural gas trucks from joining any union, describing the move as an affront to freedom of association guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution and international labour conventions.

The refinery’s scheme to deploy CNG trucks for fuel distribution, earlier scheduled for August, was delayed due to logistics issues in China but is expected to commence before year-end. NUPENG alleged that the refinery’s management and MRS, owned by Dantata, compelled drivers to sign undertakings not to join oil and gas unions.

The situation escalated into a strike on September 8, shutting down depots and filling stations across the country. But after government intervention, both sides signed the MoU, prompting NUPENG to suspend the strike.

Fuel marketers, under the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, urged all parties to respect the truce, to avoid an industrial action that may arise due to such disagreements.

PETROAN’s President, Billy Gillis-Harry, said attempts to renege on the agreement were “not in good taste.”

“All parties should adhere to the terms and spirit of the MoU signed.

Also, the Nigeria Labour Congress said Dangote refinery’s actions amounted to a “gross violation” of the agreement. NLC’s acting General Secretary Benson Upah told The PUNCH:

“We usually take decisions when agreements are violated. But note, the decision to take action rests with the appropriate organs of the Congress.” An NLC executive, speaking anonymously, accused the refinery of treating Nigerian institutions with contempt, claiming its representatives once argued that the refinery was “not in Nigeria” despite benefitting from tax waivers, concessions, and foreign exchange support.

“For Dangote to turn around and violate it is a slap on the nation. Where then is the refinery located—what we might as well call the ‘Dangote Republic’? That is treasonous,” the official said.