Efforts by the Federal Government to broker peace between the Dangote Refinery and oil workers under the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) collapsed late Monday night, leaving the nationwide strike in full force.
The meeting, convened by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, ended in a stalemate after hours of tense negotiations, with both parties failing to agree on unionisation rights for Dangote Refinery staff.
NUPENG, which commenced an indefinite nationwide strike on Monday, is protesting the company’s alleged anti-labour practices, including barring thousands of newly recruited truck drivers from joining trade unions. The union insists all workers must be allowed to register with industry unions, while Dangote’s team reportedly agreed only to a partial arrangement.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Alhaji Maigari Dingyadi, confirmed the breakdown of talks around 11 pm, saying:
“We have not been able to reach a final agreement… we are confident that maybe by tomorrow we will be able to resolve these issues. I want to appeal to everybody to please maintain the peace.”
NUPENG President Williams Akporeha accused Dangote of attempting to “enslave Nigerians” by monopolising the oil distribution system, while the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) slammed Dangote representatives for allegedly walking out on the meeting.
The strike has already triggered fuel scarcity in states including Delta and Sokoto, with long queues forming at closed filling stations and transport fares spiking. In Delta, the union threatened a ₦1 million fine for any station caught selling during the strike.
The crisis has snowballed as other key unions — including the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Natural Oil & Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) — announced they were joining the strike in solidarity.
NOGASA raised concerns that Dangote’s direct distribution of products to end-users such as hotels and telecom sites would wipe out jobs across the supply chain. NARTO, which operates over 30,000 trucks nationwide, warned the refinery’s new policies would “destroy livelihoods and threaten energy security.” PETROAN also cautioned that the approach was “unsustainable” and would hurt the downstream sector in the long run.
PENGASSAN, in a strongly worded statement, vowed to shut down refinery operations if workers’ rights to unionise were not respected, warning:
“The continued denial of workers’ rights will no longer be tolerated going forward.”
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) further alleged persistent intimidation of workers within the Dangote Group, promising that organised labour “will not fold its arms while Nigerian workers are treated as slaves in their own country.”
With multiple unions now aligned with NUPENG and fuel shortages spreading, pressure is mounting on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to intervene directly.
👉 Do you want me to also prepare a timeline of events from when the dispute began till now, so you’ll have a clear sequential record of the crisis?
