Fuel Supply Crisis Looms as Tanker Drivers Plan Monday Strike Against Dangote

Eshiorameh Sebastian in Abuja

A severe disruption to Nigeria’s fuel supply is imminent after the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) declared its intention to commence an indefinite strike action from Monday, September 8th.

The union is taking this drastic step due to a significant dispute with the management of Dangote Refinery over workers’ rights to unionise.

The union announced the industrial action in a statement jointly signed by its President, Comrade Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Comrade Afolabi Olawale, issued to newsmen in Abuja.

The statement accused the management of Dangote Refinery of “anti labour practices inimical to the survival and means of livelihood of its members” under the Petroleum and Tanker Drivers branch.

The core of the disagreement stems from the position of the chairman of Dangote Refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, that drivers recruited to operate the company’s fleet of 10,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks would not be permitted to join any trade union. NUPENG has described this stance as “an affront on the right of association guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution and a breach of relevant international labour laws to which Nigeria is a signatory.”

The union revealed that it had initiated several meetings alongside the leadership of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) to persuade Aliko Dangote to change his position. Unfortunately, the union expressed regret that these “appeals fell on deaf ears.”

The situation escalated further when, according to NUPENG, Alhaji Sayyu Aliu Dantata’s MRS began recruiting drivers for the imported CNG trucks on Friday, 29th August 2025. The union claims these new drivers “are being forced to sign an undertaking not to belong to any existing union in the Oil and Gas Industry.”

In its statement, NUPENG did not mince words, criticising the business practices of the prominent businessmen.

“NUPENG is seriously concerned and disturbed with the unconscionable business practices of Alhaji Sayyu Aliu Dantata and Alhaji Aliko Dangote who are scared of allowing unions to exist in their business outfits. To us, amassing wealth on the basis of enslavement, depriving workers of a union and voice amounts to creating filthy wealth,” the statement read.

It further added, “NUPENG will not stand idly by while these billionaires seek to destroy the livelihoods of thousands of workers, including tanker drivers.”

The union also framed its action as a defence of the public interest, suggesting Dangote’s ultimate goal is 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.” It concluded sharply on this point, stating, “This is not philanthropy, it is economic sabotage!”

NUPENG has called upon the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Authority to intervene, urging it to invoke its powers under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to “promote competition and private sector participation” and to “identify, investigate and prevent abuse of dominant positions and restrictive business practices.”

The union grounded its legal argument in both Nigerian and international law, noting that Nigeria is a signatory to the International Labour Organisation’s Convention on Freedom of Association and that the right to join a union is enshrined in Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution. “Therefore, any practice or policy by any employer which seeks to deprive workers of the right of association is an affront to the Constitution,” the statement asserted.

As a final recourse, the union declared that its members would withdraw their services.

“Meanwhile, since Alh Aliko Dangote and his cousin have resolved to replace all Petroleum Tanker Drivers in Nigeria and there is no one or institution that can stop him, the members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch of NUPENG will from Monday, 8th September 2025, start looking for alternative employments/skills and sources of livelihoods.”

The union ended its statement by apologising in advance to the Nigerian public for the inevitable disruption, pleading with them “to bear any inconveniences our struggle against this tyranny and indecency may cause.” This action threatens to severely undermine the recent stability in the distribution and availability of petroleum products across the country.