The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Dangote Refinery are set for a showdown over claims by the union that the oil company was in the process of monopolising the transportation and distribution of petroleum products across the country.
Besides, NUPENG expressed concerns over alleged anti-labour practices, especially with the latest directive that drivers recruited for the operation of the company’s imported 10,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks would not be allowed to join any trade union.
In a veiled threat, NUPENG in a statement in Abuja jointly signed by its President, Williams Akporeha and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, said that from Monday, September 8, members of the union will “start looking for alternative employment/skills and sources of livelihoods,” urging Nigerians to bear the consequences.
But reacting to the development, an energy and market economy analyst, Dan D. Kunle, in a noted to THISDAY, faulted the move by NUPENG, and argued that, “A free market economy is an open market. Free entry free exit. Nigeria FGN must not accept these threats to persist. Investment at a certain scale normally distorts the small-scale operators who lack capital to scale up.”
He added, “Unionism is a voluntary association. There is no compulsion. The Registrar of Trade Unions has the right to register such an association, and members are free to join or leave. The new association can be an affiliate of NUPENG. NUPENG is simply afraid of losing its members. That, in turn, waters down their capacity for disruption. It is a case of an anticipated balance of terror.
“A company with more than 10k trucks is being perceived as a threat to membership growth. Check-off dues automatically go down, influence and prestige wane. The chokehold they used to have on the nation in terms of strikes will go down the hill. For them, this new development ends their lethal hold on the poor masses.”However, it was gathered last night that Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) have ridiculed NUPENG over its escalating leadership crisis, and for its lack of coordination and wisdom to peacefully mitigate the cold war between the union and the management of Dangote refinery.
The tanker drivers also called for the immediate arrest of the leaders of NUPENG by law enforcement agents, especially the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of DSS so as to allow peace in the country and make Nigerians embark on their daily and legitimate businesses without any fear or molestation.
They also urged petroleum tanker drivers across the four zones of the country to ignore the nationwide strike notice issued by NUPENG.
The PTD also chided the parent body of unduly meddling in the progress and success of the country’s economic powerhouse, just as it described the leaders as economic saboteurs who have no interest of the country at heart but to continue in the old order of manipulating the system through illegal levies at depots, tank farms, and refineries that are never accounted for under the current leadership.
However, NUPENG argued that the survival of its members under its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch, was under threat by the decision of the management of the refinery to import CNG trucks massively as well as the company’s seeming anti-unionisation stance.
Worried by the massive importation of trucks, NUPENG stated that the leadership of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), which is the employers association of the petroleum tanker drivers and the leadership of NUPENG, rather than going on the streets to protest against the declaration, sought audience with the company to seek clarification.
Thereafter, NUPENG noted that Aliu Dantata, the owner of MRS Energy, was then detailed by the refinery to meet with its members, who insisted that the truck drivers will not be allowed to join any existing union, but that a new union will be formed for them.
“The drivers being recruited are being forced to sign an undertaking not to belong to any existing union in the oil and gas industry.
“The recruitment being carried out on the condition of not joining existing union is the implementation of the position declared to us on June 23, 2025, when the leadership of NUPENG and NARTO had the meeting…,” the NUPENG statement added.
NUPENG stated that the company was scared of allowing unions to exist in their business outfits, maintaining that it will not stand by while the livelihoods of thousands of workers, including tanker drivers, are destroyed.
It alleged that the company was scheming to monopolise distribution, crush competition, and enslave the sector and raise prices, which would ultimately result in an attack on the living standards of the masses of ordinary Nigerians.
The union called on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA) to invoke its powers under Section 32(u) and (aa) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to promote competition and private sector participation in the midstream and downstream petroleum operations.
“The Authority has responsibility to identify, investigate and prevent abuse of dominant positions and restrictive business practices with regard to midstream and downstream petroleum operations,” it added.
As a member of the international community and a state member in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and having ratified the relevant conventions, it stated that workers have the right to join unions of their choice to protect their employment and trade union rights, and without prior authorisation of any employer or authority.
“If they persist in their anti-union tyrannical attitudes, NUPENG is set and ready to mobilise its forces to fight within the framework of the law, members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch of NUPENG will from Monday, September 8, 2025, start looking for alternative employments/skills and sources of livelihoods.
“We plead with the general public to bear any inconveniences our struggle against this tyranny and indecency may cause…”, NUPENG added.
Emmanuel Addeh
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