By Olakunle Oke
The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Tuesday called off its two-day strike after the Dangote Group consented to unionise its drivers.
NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, confirmed the breakthrough, stating that an agreement was reached at a meeting facilitated by the Department of State Services (DSS).
He revealed that the Dangote refinery team, headed by Sayyu Dantata, formally endorsed the unionisation request, which NUPENG had set as a prerequisite for resuming fuel distribution.
“The strike has been suspended. The Dangote refinery has agreed to unionise its drivers. We signed an agreement,” Akporeha said.
The industrial action, which commenced on Monday, brought fuel loading to a halt nationwide despite a last-ditch plea from the Federal Government. Petrol stations in several states closed their pumps, fuelling concerns of scarcity.
The Aradel refinery in Obele, Port Harcourt, as well as the Kwale Hydrocarbon facility in Delta State, also shut down operations as the strike gained traction.
NUPENG had announced its strike plan last Friday, accusing Dangote of attempting to prevent the 4,000 truck drivers recruited for its refinery from joining the union.
By Sunday, the Federal Government waded in, calling on the union to reconsider. The plea was dismissed, with NUPENG maintaining that past efforts to weaken workers’ rights had left it with no option but to proceed.
When the strike took hold on Monday morning, enforcement was strict. Trucks were grounded in depots across Lagos, Warri and other hubs, while loading bays remained deserted under the close watch of union monitors.
Depot operations were paralysed nationwide, leaving long queues of idle trucks as drivers awaited fresh instructions from NUPENG leadership.
The confrontation reflected NUPENG’s entrenched history of disputes with oil and gas operators over unionisation and welfare. Previous clashes with multinational oil firms and local refiners have followed a familiar cycle of stoppages before eventual negotiation.
Analysts note that while the swift resolution of the Dangote row offers short-term relief for the downstream sector, labour relations in the industry remain volatile and vulnerable to further breakdowns.