The Department of State Services (DSS) has intervened in the lingering crisis between the management of Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
The intervention follows the breakdown of the agreement reached with the oil workers by Dangote Refinery barely 24hours after the agreement was signed.
According to sources privy to the intervention, the DSS had summoned the representative of Dangote and NUPENG to a meeting scheduled by 3pm on Friday.
Other stakeholders including government representatives, the leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) were also invited to attend the meeting.
Dangote Refinery had earlier reached agreement with the oil workers’ unions on September 9, after NUPENG declared a nationwide strike to press home their demand that drivers employed by Dangote Refinery for its newly acquired 4000 CNG trucks must join the oil union.
However, in a statement jointly signed by NUPENG President Prince Williams Akporeha and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale, they accused Dangote of reneging on their earlier ahgreement with the union.
According to the NUPENG leaders, “The press statement by Dangote Petroleum Refinery dated 11th September 2025 further confirms the company’s aim to crush our union, NUPENG, as well as stifle competition, with the ultimate goal of increasing fuel prices in the long run.
“The attempt to create an illusion of division within our union is not only malicious but entirely fabricated. If a ‘faction of tanker drivers’ truly existed, Dangote should have persuaded them to call off the nationwide strike of Petroleum Tanker Drivers directed by NUPENG, which was effective, peaceful, and 100 percent successful.”
“The refinery also falsely claims it does not prevent its truck drivers from joining NUPEN
“ The MoU signed on September 9, 2025, stemmed from the company’s earlier resistance to unionisation — a fact the agreement itself confirms. Yet, on September 11, Dangote Refinery ordered the removal of NUPENG stickers from all trucks, replacing them with those of the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA), a body allegedly created by the management. Our members have firmly resisted this directive
“ Individuals who have repeatedly lost elections in the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch since 2023 have now become spokespersons for the DTCDA. Some of them have been granting interviews to local and international media in support of the company. Nigerians should also be aware that some of these individuals are facing criminal charges (Charge No. CR/042/23) at the FCT High Court for violent crimes, including an attempt to assassinate elected leaders of the PTD Branch and NUPENG. During one of their attacks, NUPENG’s General Secretary was beaten into a coma and only revived in hospital.
“Nigerians must not be deceived by the company’s offer of free nationwide fuel delivery. This move is aimed at discouraging other employers from hiring tanker drivers so that only Dangote-employed drivers — compelled to join the DTCDA — will remain in the workforce. The strategy is clearly to crush NUPENG and its PTD Branch.
“It is also important to note that, apart from tanker drivers, the refinery’s operational and administrative staff have been obstructed from exercising their right to unionise. It is on record that Dangote Group does not permit unionisation in its cement and sugar plants across Nigeria. Nigerians should not support an arrangement that denies drivers and other workers in the Dangote Group their right to freedom of association.”
