Urge Immediate Action at Dangote Refinery - Falana Advises Federal Government
Headline: National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers to Launch Indefinite Strike Against Dangote Petroleum Refinery
The National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers (NUPENG) has announced plans for an indefinite strike, set to begin on Monday, September 9, 2025. The union's action is in response to a policy implemented by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which is believed to violate several international and national labour and human rights conventions and declarations.
The contentious policy, according to human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, prohibits new drivers from joining unions in the industry. Falana has stated that this policy violates the fundamental rights of workers to freedom of association, as enshrined in various international treaties, including the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) of the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Falana has called on the Registrar of Trade Unions to take immediate action against Dangote Petroleum Refinery, and has also urged the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Industrial Arbitration Panel to intervene in the ongoing dispute. He has further requested the Federal Government to intervene, emphasising that the rights of Nigerian workers to unionize are not a recent development, but were won under the British colonial regime.
In addition, Falana has appealed to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to halt the monopolistic practices of the Dangote Group, as they violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 2018. The Dangote Group is alleged to be compelling newly recruited drivers to sign agreements barring them from joining existing unions in the oil and gas industry.
The dispute between NUPENG and Dangote Petroleum Refinery is ongoing, and the union's strike is scheduled to commence next week. This development comes as a significant challenge to the Dangote Group, which has been operating outside the ambit of the law, according to some critics. The outcome of this dispute is expected to have far-reaching implications for labour rights and industrial relations in Nigeria.
