The Federal Government has urged the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to reverse its decision to begin a nationwide strike on Monday, 8 September 2025.
The dispute arose over the Dangote Group’s alleged policy preventing its employees from joining industry unions.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, issued the appeal in a statement signed by the ministry’s head of information, Patience Onuobia. He also called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to withdraw the red alert it circulated, which instructed its affiliate unions to prepare for a nationwide strike in solidarity with the petroleum workers protesting against what they described as the Dangote Group’s anti-worker and anti-union practices.
Dingyadi explained that the ministry had already stepped in to mediate the matter and asked all unions to suspend any plans that could destabilise the petroleum sector. He stressed the need to maintain stability in this vital part of Nigeria’s economy.
“I have invited all the parties to a conciliation meeting tomorrow, Monday, 8 September 2025. Since I have intervened, I urge NUPENG to cancel its decision to shut down the petroleum sector from tomorrow. I also appeal to the NLC to withdraw the red alert it issued. The petroleum sector is central to our economy. A strike, even for a single day, will inflict severe revenue losses running into billions of naira and create untold hardship for Nigerians. I ask the unions to give peace a chance. I assure them this matter will be settled amicably,” the minister said.
He further assured Nigerians that the government would resolve the dispute without disruption to the sector.
On Friday, NUPENG announced that its members would withdraw their services and begin seeking alternative employment from 8 September. The union said the move directly responded to Dangote Refinery’s alleged attempts to stop its compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker drivers from joining unions.
Although the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) rejected the strike call, NUPENG reaffirmed its commitment to the industrial action on Sunday.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, supported NUPENG’s stance. He argued that Dangote’s policy breached Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, Section 12 of the Trade Union Act, and Article 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.
He added that the policy violated international agreements ratified by Nigeria, including the International Labour Organisation’s Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (1948, No. 87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (1949, No. 98), alongside the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.