The nationwide strike by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has been called off after an agreement was reached with the Dangote Refinery.
The strike, which started on Monday, was a protest against the Dangote Group’s alleged anti-union practices and a refusal to allow its workers to join the union.
The industrial action caused significant disruption, leading to the shutdown of fuel loading depots across the country. NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, had stated the strike was to fight against the “enslavement” of workers.
The Dangote Group, however, had reassured the public that the strike would not result in fuel scarcity.
A resolution was found during a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, which was facilitated by government officials and other key stakeholders. Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and NUPENG immediately instructed its members to resume work, thereby averting a potential economic crisis.
“Following the threat to embark on industrial action by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) over the refusal of the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Limited to allow their employees to be unionized by registered labour unions, a conciliation meeting was held at the instance of the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment.
“It was revealed during the meeting that the management agreed with this fact and responded that they are not averse to the unionization of their employees by labour unions in tandem with the provisions of the extant labour laws.
“After exhaustive deliberations, the following resolutions were reached by both parties: That since workers’ unionisation is a right in line with the provisions of the extant laws, the management of “Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals agreed to the unionization of employees of Dangote Refinery and unionisation of employees of Petrochemicals, who are willing to unionise.
“That the process of unionisation shall commence immediately and be completed within two weeks (9th to 22nd September, 2025), and it was agreed that the employer will not set up any other union. Arising from the strike notice, no worker or employee of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical will be victimized. Parties will revert to the Honourable Minister of Labour a week after the conclusion of the engagement. Based on the MoU, NUPENG agreed to suspend the industrial action with immediate effect.”
The agreement was formally sealed with the signatures of key representatives from both sides and other stakeholders.
