NUPENG slams Dangote’s free petrol distribution, calls it monopoly

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has accused Dangote Petroleum Refinery of running a grand scheme to weaken organised labour, eliminate competition, and tighten its control of the petroleum sector.

In a statement dated September 12, 2025, and signed by Williams Akporeha, its National Executive President, the union criticised the refinery.

It described it 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.”

Daily Times earlier reported that the Dangote Group announced that its refinery would begin direct supply of petrol to 11 states from Monday, September 15.

Pump prices have been fixed at ₦841 per litre in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti, while motorists in Abuja, Delta, Rivers, Edo, and Kwara will pay ₦851.

But NUPENG warned Nigerians not to fall for what it called a dangerous ploy.

“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.

The union said the company has been undermining its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch since 2023 by sponsoring a rival body, the DTCDA.

According to NUPENG, the association 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.”

It further alleged that the refinery ordered drivers to remove NUPENG stickers from their trucks and replace them with DTCDA insignia, in violation of a Memorandum of Understanding signed on September 9 recognising workers’ rights to freedom of association.

NUPENG linked individuals allegedly backed by Dangote Refinery to violent crimes.

“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 said one such attack left its General Secretary in a coma before he was revived in hospital.

NUPENG also accused Dangote Group of blocking union activities across its cement and sugar plants. It urged Nigerians to reject what it called an attempt to enslave workers.

“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.

“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.

“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,” it said.