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NLC backs NUPENG in dispute with Dangote refinery
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed unwavering support for the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) amid their ongoing conflict with Dangote Refinery concerning fuel distribution.
In a statement dated Saturday and signed by NLC president Comrade Joe Ajaero, the Congress asserted that Nigerian workers must not be “sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed,” emphasizing that their solidarity with NUPENG is “not negotiable.”
The dispute arose after NUPENG instructed its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch to halt loading petroleum products from Dangote depots starting Monday, September 8.
READ ALSO: NUPENG threatens fuel loading halt over dispute with Dangote refinery
Central to the disagreement is the refinery’s reported policy preventing drivers employed for its 10,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks from joining any trade union.
The NLC stated it had thoroughly reviewed NUPENG’s complaints and received additional grievances from other unions accusing Dangote of anti-union behavior, monopolistic tactics, and poor industrial relations.
It further alleged that the Dangote Group has been systematically violating workers’ constitutional rights to freedom of association by imposing “company unions” that weaken collective bargaining.
Labeling the situation as a direct assault on Nigerian workers, the Congress accused the refinery of exploitative labor practices, inadequate wages, casual employment, and favoring foreign workers over qualified Nigerians.
The NLC also claimed that instead of reducing costs, the Dangote monopoly exploits scarcity and distribution control to increase prices, worsening poverty and hardship.
“This is not industrialisation; it is economic sabotage. It is not nation-building; it is class robbery,” the statement declared. “What we are witnessing is the classic playbook of primitive capitalism, where workers are treated as slaves without voice or dignity.”
The Congress cited Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, the Labour Act, and ILO Conventions 87 and 98, insisting that Dangote’s actions violate both national and international labor laws.
The NLC outlined several demands:
– The Federal Government must immediately summon Alhaji Aliko Dangote and associates to ensure compliance with labor laws and international standards.
– Dangote Group must end all anti-union and anti-worker practices.
– All Dangote Group companies, including the refinery, must be fully unionized.
– Nigerian workers, industrial unions, and state councils have been placed on high alert for potential nationwide action.
– Regulatory bodies, especially the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Authority, must intervene or risk complicity in the privatization of Nigeria’s energy sector and workforce exploitation.
– Nigerians should recognize that “this is not philanthropy, it is plunder; it is not development, it is dispossession and enslavement.”
The NLC stressed that the conflict extends beyond NUPENG, representing an attack on the entire labor movement.
“The attack on NUPENG is an attack on us all,” the statement read. “Our Constitution and international conventions guarantee our right to organise, collectively bargain, and defend our dignity at work. We will resist every attempt by the Dangote Group to roll back these rights.”
The Congress warned that if Dangote does not immediately cease its “anti-union and anti-people policies,” it will escalate its response.
“We warn that if Dangote continues on this reckless anti-union path, the NLC and its affiliates will move beyond words to action.
“We will confront this tyranny head-on until victory is secured for Nigerian workers and the Nigerian people,” the statement added.
“Our solidarity is not negotiable. We will fight because we must. The working class must not be sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed.”
“It demonstrates, in the clearest possible terms, that when citizens act with unity, clarity of purpose, and resolve, they can indeed move mountains.”
These were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), reacted to Tuesday’s agreement of the 10th Senate to reverse the controversial provisions in the Electoral Amendment Bill, in which they earlier retained the discretionary provision of transmission of results of election electronically by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the coalition party, attributing the U-turn to the resilience of Nigerians, described the development as a victory for democracy and people-powered civic action.
Abdullahi, a former Minister, who called on Nigerians to stay alert and continue mounting pressure on relevant authorities until the amended bill secures presidential assent, is duly gazetted, and takes full legal effect, urged Nigerians to maintain eternal vigilance.
Following a groundswell of outrage across the country, regarding its initial decision to retain the 2022 provision and subsequent protests, which saw Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023 and Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor Rivers State, teaming up with a group of Nigerians on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, the Senate eventually bowed to pressure mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit elections to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), real time, but with a proviso to use manual collation only as a contingency in cases of technological failure.
Hailing the development, ADC stated that the recant by the lawmakers was beyond a simple legislative reversal, but a reflection of the resilience, alertness, and growing political awareness of Nigerians from all segments of society.
The statement, added: “The decision of the 10th Senate to urgently reverse the contentious provisions of the Electoral Amendment Bill that it passed is a significant victory for the Nigerian people.
“This outcome is not merely a legislative U-turn. It is a testament to the resilience, vigilance, and rising political consciousness of Nigerians across all walks of life. From street protests to digital campaigns, the Nigerian people have once again shown that sovereignty truly belongs to them.
“In the face of the ruling APC’s habitual disregard for due process and democratic values, the Nigerian people have reaffirmed their place as the ultimate custodians of our democracy.
“In this regard, the African Democratic Congress salutes the courage and tenacity of Nigerians. We commend every citizen who raised their voice, whether online or offline, to resist legislative mischief that threatened to undermine our electoral integrity.”
Calling on Nigerians to remain steadfast, stressing that the development represents only a step in the right direction, not the final victory, the party, added: “We must now ensure that this momentum is sustained until the amended bill is not only passed but duly assented to by the President, properly gazetted, and becomes an enforceable law of the Federal Republic.
“We must remain vigilant to ensure there are no last-minute betrayals or technical ambiguities, the kind that often lead to ‘stories that touch.’ Let this be a reminder that democracy does not thrive in silence or indifference. It demands participation, persistence, and sometimes, peaceful defiance.”
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Tuesday, confirmed that President Bola Tinubu has once again intervened to stem the political schism between the Rivers State House of Assembly and Siminalayi Fubara, the governor that would have led to the latter’s impeachment.
But the Minister, left a caveat – this is the last time the President would be making such an intervention – as he added that both sides would now have to work according to the terms agreed at the parley.
In the latest faceoff which started early in the year, 27 members of the assembly said to be loyal to Wike, had launched a fresh impeachment move against the governor – the third since he took office in 2023, accusing him of sundry infractions of the constitution including spending money without appropriation.
Fubara, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), last year, was believed to have run to the President for succour, whose intervention is believed to have halted the move.
Giving details of the rapprochement, Wike told reporters in Abuja, on Tuesday that the President playing a fatherly role stepped in to resolve disputes between the two parties.
His words: “He is very kind to the people of the state. If there seems to be any problem between the legislature and the governor, as a father, he really has to intervene.
“This is the second time Mr President is intervening and I believe by the grace of God that this will be the last time Mr President will intervene.”
Wike, who has since been linked to the crises from the outset and in firm grips of the lawmakers, also pointed out his own role in the matter, saying: “I have told them to obey Mr President and I know that they would not hesitate.”
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday finally sent the name of Usman Isa Dakingari, former Governor of Kebbi State to the Senate for confirmation as as a non-career ambassador after last month’s embarrassing mix-up in which his name suddenly appeared for posting to Turkey without legislative clearance.
Tinubu, in a correspondence conveying the appointment, which was read by Godswill Akpabio, said: “I write for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of Usman Isa Dakingari as non-career ambassador,.
“Whilst I hope that the senate will consider and confirm the nominee expeditiously, please accept, distinguished senate president, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
After reading the letter at plenary, the Senate President, said the matter would be referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs for consideration and report back to the Committee of Whole within one week.
Electoral Act: Don’t go to sleep, maintain eternal vigilance, ADC tells Nigerians
This is the last time Tinubu will intervene in Rivers’ row – Wike
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