Government Meets NUPENG and Dangote but No Deal Reached

The strike by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is set to continue after a meeting with the federal government and the Dangote Group ended without an agreement.

The industrial action, which began on Monday, September 8, has already entered its second day. Since the strike started, no fuel tankers have loaded or transported petroleum products across the country. 

This has raised fears of looming fuel scarcity, as some filling stations may soon run out of supply. Pictures and videos from different truck parks also show many tankers parked without movement.

To prevent the strike from worsening, the federal government called a closed-door meeting in Abuja on Monday. The talks were led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, alongside his deputy, Nkiruka Onyejeocha. 

Other participants included leaders of NUPENG, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), officials from the petroleum regulatory authority, as well as representatives of Dangote Group and MRS Petroleum.

Despite the long talks, the meeting ended in a deadlock. The main issue is NUPENG’s opposition to Dangote Refinery’s plan to bring in 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks for fuel distribution. 

The union believes the move threatens the jobs of its members in the Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch.

NUPENG also accused the refinery of planning to hire new drivers without allowing them to join any union, which they say goes against Nigeria’s constitution and international labour standards. 

They further alleged that MRS Petroleum, owned by Sayyu Dantata, a relative of Aliko Dangote, has already begun recruiting drivers under strict conditions that prevent them from joining oil and gas unions.

Although the CNG truck project has been delayed due to logistics issues in China, the Dangote Refinery says operations will begin once the trucks arrive in Nigeria. 

For now, the union insists the strike will continue until their concerns are addressed, raising fresh worries about fuel supply across the country.