The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria have asked President Bola Tinubu and other stakeholders to intervene in the dispute between the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and the Dangote Refinery.
But the Nigeria Labour Congress, while also calling for urgent intervention in the stand-off, accused the Dangote refinery of anti-labour practices. This comes after NUPENG said on Friday that it would begin industrial action on Monday, September 8.
The union lamented that the refinery’s owner, Aliko Dangote, had insisted that new drivers for the imported trucks would not be allowed to join any union. It described the decision as an affront on freedom of association guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution, and a breach of international labour conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory. NUPENG recalled that it had held several meetings, alongside the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, to persuade Dangote to reconsider.
NUPENG said its members would stop fuel loading nationwide from Monday, September 8, if the situation remained unresolved.
