The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has suspended its two-day nationwide strike following a breakthrough agreement with Dangote Refinery on Tuesday.
The decision, announced by NUPENG President Williams Akporeha, came after a meeting convened by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja, where the refinery’s management, led by Sayyu Dantata, committed to allowing its tanker drivers to unionize.
“We have suspended the strike. The Dangote refinery has agreed to unionize its drivers. We signed an agreement,” Akporeha confirmed in a telephone conversation with Punch.
The resolution marks the end of a heated dispute that saw petroleum tanker drivers halt fuel loading across Nigeria on Monday, September 8, 2025, paralyzing operations at major depots in Lagos, Warri, Port Harcourt, and Delta State.
The Aradel refinery in Obele, Port Harcourt, and the Kwale Hydrocarbon facility in Delta were among the facilities shut down, with filling stations in several states also affected.
The strike was triggered by NUPENG’s allegations that Dangote Refinery intended to bar its 4,000 newly recruited truck drivers from joining the union, a move the union described as a violation of workers’ rights under Nigerian labor laws and International Labour Organisation conventions.
NUPENG’s action followed a breakdown in negotiations on Monday night, when a federal government-mediated meeting ended in a stalemate after Dangote’s representatives reportedly walked out, prompting solidarity threats from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other unions like PENGASSAN, NOGASA, NARTO, and PETROAN.
The DSS’s intervention proved pivotal in bringing both parties back to the table on Tuesday. The agreement allows drivers to join NUPENG, addressing the union’s core demand for full unionization across the refinery’s operations.
The strike’s suspension averts fears of a nationwide fuel scarcity, which loomed large as depots remained locked and trucks grounded on Monday.
In Lagos and Warri, NUPENG officials enforced compliance, ensuring no fuel was loaded until a resolution was reached.
Despite appeals from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to shelve the strike, NUPENG proceeded with the industrial action on Monday, citing Dangote’s alleged “anti-union practices” and attempts to create a parallel drivers’ association.
Akporeha had emphasized that the union’s stance was not against the refinery’s success but aimed at protecting workers’ rights.
“Everybody wants Dangote to succeed, including NUPENG. But he must play by the rules,” he told Arise News on Tuesday.
The dispute with Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest oil refinery, underscores tensions between Nigeria’s labor movement and private sector giants amid economic challenges.
The refinery, a flagship project of the Dangote Group, has faced scrutiny over its labor policies, particularly its plan to deploy thousands of compressed natural gas-powered trucks for fuel distribution. NUPENG argued that non-unionized drivers risked job insecurity and could render existing members redundant, a concern echoed by the NLC, which accused Dangote of pursuing a “monopolistic agenda.”
