In a press statement dated September 12, 2025, and signed by Comrade (Prince) Williams Akporeha, National Executive President of NUPENG, the union described Dangote Refinery as an “epitome of unconscionable capitalist network built on falsehood to hoodwink the gullible with the goal of crushing our union as well as crushing competition, all with the ultimate goal of increasing fuel price on the long run”.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has accused Dangote Petroleum Refinery of orchestrating a grand deception designed to crush organised labour, eliminate competition, and tighten its monopoly grip on Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
In a press statement dated September 12, 2025, and signed by Comrade (Prince) Williams Akporeha, National Executive President of NUPENG, the union described Dangote Refinery as an “epitome of unconscionable capitalist network built on falsehood to hoodwink the gullible with the goal of crushing our union as well as crushing competition, all with the ultimate goal of increasing fuel price on the long run”.
The union said that the refinery’s recent media propaganda about free nationwide delivery of petroleum products to fuel stations was a dangerous trap.
“Nigerians should not be deceived by the offer of free nationwide delivery of petroleum products to dispensing stations. It is a Greek Gift to ensure that other employers of Petroleum Truck Drivers are unable to employ drivers so that only those employed by the company, who are forced to join the DTCDA (Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association), will remain in employment,” the statement reads.
NUPENG accused Dangote Refinery of systematically working to undermine its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch since 2023 by sponsoring a division and setting up a proxy association, the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA).
According to the union, the DTCDA is “an ill-fated body populated by individuals who consistently lost elections in the PTD Branch of NUPENG but were later recruited by Dangote’s management to destabilise the union.”
The statement alleged that the company went as far as directing truck drivers to remove NUPENG stickers from their vehicles and replace them with DTCDA insignia, despite a Memorandum of Understanding signed on September 9, 2025, recognising workers’ rights to freedom of association.
In a shocking revelation, NUPENG named individuals allegedly being sponsored by Dangote Refinery to discredit the union, linking them to violent crimes publicly.
“Mr. Dayyabu Garga, who has been speaking on BBC Hausa in support of Dangote Refinery, is serial number three on a criminal charge sheet, while Sylvanus Idanwekhai, who appeared on TVC for the same purpose, is serial number fourteen on CHARGE NO: CR/042/23 at the FCT High Court, Abuja, for violent crimes committed in attempting to assassinate elected and appointed leaders of PTD and NUPENG,” the statement alleged.
The union claimed that during one of the attacks allegedly orchestrated by those individuals, its General Secretary was beaten into a coma and only survived after being revived in the hospital.
NUPENG also accused Dangote Group of a wider anti-labour policy across its conglomerate, noting that workers in its cement and sugar plants are systematically denied the right to unionise.
“Aside from Petroleum Tanker Drivers, there are other operational and administrative workers of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company which the management has been preventing from joining unions.
“It is on record that Dangote Group does not allow unionization of workers in all its cement and sugar plants across Nigeria,” the statement declared.
The union urged Nigerians to reject what it described as an attempt to enslave workers under a monopoly system.
“Nigerians should not support a work arrangement in which drivers and other workers in the Dangote Group will be denied the right to enjoy freedom of association and unionization,” it said.
The statement ended with a stern warning, saying, “The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers is alerting the whole world that nothing untoward should happen to any of our leaders championing this struggle because we know how desperate and destructive capitalists with filthy wealth can be when cornered and exposed.”
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