The Department of State Services (DSS) has called an emergency meeting with the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), following renewed tensions over alleged violations of workers’ right to unionise.
On September 9, 2025, both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the DSS Headquarters in Abuja. The agreement, witnessed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), government ministers, and other stakeholders, granted refinery workers the freedom to join any trade union of their choice without interference.
However, less than 24 hours later, NUPENG accused Dangote Refinery of breaching the pact — a claim the company strongly denied. On September 12, the union again alleged that the refinery’s management was being “economical with the truth.”
In a joint statement signed by NUPENG President Prince Williams Akporeha and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale, the union faulted a September 11 press release issued by Dangote Refinery, saying it misrepresented the facts surrounding workers’ rights and the company’s relationship with NUPENG.
The statement read in part:
> “The press statement by Dangote Petroleum Refinery dated 11th September 2025 confirms the company’s agenda to weaken NUPENG and stifle competition, ultimately paving the way for higher fuel prices. The attempt to create an illusion of division within our union is not only malicious but completely fabricated. If a so-called ‘faction of tanker drivers’ truly existed, Dangote should have convinced them to call off the nationwide strike led by our Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch, which was peaceful, effective, and fully successful.”
NUPENG further accused Dangote Refinery of instructing drivers to remove NUPENG stickers from their trucks, replacing them with those of the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) — a group the union claims was created by the company. According to NUPENG, members resisted this directive.
The union also alleged that individuals behind the DTCDA were disgruntled former PTD members who had repeatedly lost elections since 2023, some of whom are currently facing criminal charges at the FCT High Court for violent crimes, including an alleged assassination attempt on elected union leaders.
NUPENG maintained that Dangote’s much-publicised offer of free nationwide petrol delivery was a strategy to monopolise the tanker driver workforce and weaken the union.
> “Apart from tanker drivers, operational and administrative staff of the refinery have also been obstructed from exercising their right to unionise. It is on record that Dangote Group does not allow union activities in its cement and sugar plants across Nigeria. Nigerians must not support any arrangement that denies workers their fundamental right to freedom of association,” the statement added.
As of the time of filing this report, Dangote Group had not responded to the latest allegations. In its earlier statement, the company insisted that workers’ association with any trade union remained strictly voluntary, in line with Nigerian labour laws and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
