•Parties agree to allow unionisation based on freewill 

•Unions ground commercial activities in states

•How NUPENG, TUC insisted Dangote cannot form union for workers 

•Narrate how Dangote team walked out on minister twice

Emmanuel Addeh, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City, Sylvester Idowu in Warri, Gideon Arinze in Enugu, Fidelis David in Akure, Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), yesterday, called off its industrial action after the Department of State Services (DSS) brokered a truce between the federal government, oil industry stakeholders, and organised labour.

THISDAY gathered that the resolution followed a high-level meeting convened in Abuja with key government officials, representatives of Dangote Refinery, and leaders of major trade unions in attendance.

But before the agreement was reached, the industrial action embarked upon by the oil workers had grounded commercial activities in several states of the federation, subjecting motorists to long fuel queues and commuters to immeasurable hardship.

Aside from top officials of the Oluwatosin Ajayi-led DSS, it was learnt that Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi; Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; and the Dangote Refinery delegation, led by Sayyu Dantata, were also present.

In addition, labour leaders, including NUPENG’s Williams Akporeha, Benson Upah of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and Nuhu Toro of Trade Union Congress (TUC) also played critical roles at the meeting.

Following hours of deliberation, the parties resolved to uphold existing labour laws, with emphasis that employees must not be compelled to join any union, and should retain the freedom to either affiliate with or decline membership of any labour body.

Besides, other outstanding issues of contention were resolved, culminating in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by all stakeholders. The agreement led to the immediate suspension of NUPENG’s strike action, which had threatened to disrupt petroleum supply and distribution across the country.

Specifically, all parties agreed to the unionisation of only employees of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals, who were willing to do so.

In a formal communique jointly signed by Assistant General Secretary of NLC, Upah, and General Secretary of TUC, Toro, on behalf of NUPENG and organised labour, and Dantata, who represented Dangote Refinery, the parties stressed that it was agreed that the employer (Dangote) could not set up any other union.

The communique stated, “Following the threat to embark on industrial action by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) over the following points in dispute: Refusal of the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Limited to allow their employees to be unionised by registered labour unions.

“A conciliation meeting was held at the instance of the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment and it was revealed in the course of the meeting that: the management agreed with this fact and responded that they are not averse to the unionisation of their employees.

“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 unionisation 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 (9-22 September, 2025), and it was agreed that the employer cannot set up any other union.”

The MoU further stated that arising from the strike notice, no worker or employee of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals will be victimised.

In the same vein, the agreement stated that parties will revert to the labour minister a week after the conclusion of the engagement. “Based on the MoU, NUPENG agreed to suspend the industrial action with immediate effect,” the document explained.

Unions say Dangote’s Team Walked Out on FG Twice

Before the meeting, NUPENG and TUC had narrated on both Arise Television and Channels Television what transpired on the first day of the meeting, when no agreement was reached.

Akporeha said on Arise TV, “One major role of trade unions across the world is to ensure fairness, equity, and job security for workers in their various workplaces. What Dangote has shown over time is that he’s not prepared to have workers that will have a say in his employment.

“And to us, we say that is slavery. The Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) that you talked about, were asked to leave the meeting yesterday (Monday) because they are not known to law.

“The minister asked them to leave the meeting. They even came to the meeting uninvited. And they were told that they were not a lawful organisation to organise workers in the oil and gas sector.

“And they were asked to leave the meeting. So, the appropriate organisations that should organise workers in the oil and gas sector are NUPENG, PENGASSAN, and there’s some other unions like that.”

Akporeha also said Dangote’s team walked out on the federal government team, which was trying to broker peace, twice.

“They walked out on the federal government, which was telling them the appropriate way to go about this issue,” he added on Arise TV.

TUC’s Toro described the walkout as an insult, stressing that the unions are not averse to negotiation.

Toro stated on Channels TV, “But the negotiations broke down at the point when the Dangote group staged a walkout. We saw that walkout as insulting, as unacceptable, because when you don’t sit on the negotiating table, how do you put the facts there? How do you look at people’s concerns?

“That, for us, was also a disrespect, not only to the entire labour movement, but to the Honourable Minister of Labour, who presided over the meeting, who would have thought that in negotiations, they would sit to listen to what the issues are and provide their defence. And at the end, we strike at the balance, which was absent in yesterday’s (Monday’s) meeting.”

Strike Grounds Commercial Activities in States

Although in several states, including Lagos and Abuja, the strike did not have much effect on daily activities, in many states, it halted commercial and social activities.

In Enugu, transport operations were grounded following the strike action embarked upon by NUPENG.

THISDAY checks showed that in the state, many filling stations within the metropolis were closed, a development that forced several transporters to buy petrol at exorbitant prices from black market dealers.

Drivers, who spoke to THISDAY, said they bought four litres for as much as N10,000 (N2,500 per litre), a development that increased transportation fares. Findings from commuters showed that distances that used to cost between N500 and N700 went up to between N700 and N1,000.

In Akure, the Ondo State capital, NUPENG shut down several filling stations in compliance with a national directive. The union members stormed filling stations along major roads in Akure, including Ondo Road, Oke-Aro, Oba-Ile, and Ilesha-Owo Expressway, shutting down operations.

According to NUPENG Coordinator in the state, Adewale Adekunle, the action was aimed at resisting what they described as Dangote’s attempt to monopolise the petroleum system, which could lead to the loss of over 10,000 jobs.

“We don’t want Dangote to monopolise us the way he monopolised the cement industry,” Adekunle said, adding that the union would not stand idly by while the business mogul attempts to exclude them from the system.

Adekunle emphasised that NUPENG’s action was not driven by personal interests but a desire to protect the jobs and welfare of its members.

He said, “It is inhumane and unacceptable that over 10,000 workers could be rendered jobless.”

Adekunle vowed that the union would continue to resist any attempt to undermine its members’ interests.

It was observed that the action resulted in significant fuel shortages across the state capital. Following the strike action, long queues formed at several filling stations, and many fuel outlets had restricted access, effectively creating an artificial scarcity of fuel.

There was partial compliance with strike action embarked upon by NUPENG and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in parts of Delta State.

Most filling stations monitored yesterday either opened early in the morning between 5am and 6am before locking their entrances to motorists and later unlocking for sales to customers about 6pm to beat the monitoring task forces of their unions.

Delta State chapters of both unions had last weekend announced an indefinite strike beginning two days ago with a N1 million fine on defaulters.

The decision followed an emergency meeting held on Saturday, September 6, where both unions resolved to shut down all filling stations across the state from 6am on Monday until further directives were issued by their national leadership.

Although some stations put their entrances under lock and key, they made their products available to black marketers around their operational areas.

In Benin, Edo State, the strike action embarked by IPMAN was not total. Areas visited saw a good number of the petrol stations open for business. Those that shut their stations were the independent marketers while the majority marketers and the NNPC stations were not affected.

Affected by the shutdown were mainly petrol stations within the city centre, while those largely at the outskirts of the town were open and seen dispensing fuel to customers at the official pump price.

But fuel prices remained unchanged in Kano State, despite the strike by NUPENG, as filling stations continued to sell fuel at the normal price. Motorists in the state enjoyed steady prices as fuel remained readily available at most filling stations across the state, defying the nationwide strike by the union.

Also, domestic users and other buyers were able to purchase fuel without facing the long queues and supply disruptions typically associated with industrial actions.

However, in places like Hotoro quarters, Maiduguri road, Zaria road, the majority of tanker drivers parked their vehicles along the road causing congestion and making it difficult for other road users to access their destinations.

At NNPC outlets and other filling stations, such as AARano, A. Y Maikifi, Aliko, Matrix, MRS, Alihsan, Azman, and many others, fuel attendants were still struggling to sell the commodity, which was being sold for between N895 and N920.

The post DSS Brokers Truce as Oil Workers Call Off Nationwide Strike appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

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