Lagos, Sept. 12 — The dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) deepened on Friday as the company urged the union to expose those responsible for the alleged $18 billion spent on government-owned refineries with no results.
In a statement, Dangote questioned why the refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna remain idle despite years of government spending on turnaround maintenance. The company reminded NUPENG of its opposition to the 2007 privatisation of the facilities, in which a consortium that included Dangote acquired the Port Harcourt and Kaduna plants.
“To date, about $18bn has been wasted to rehabilitate the refineries without any success. Who are the people who spent all these humongous amounts without any result? Can NUPENG assist Nigerians to unravel this?” the refinery queried.
Dangote also dismissed allegations by NUPENG that it was attempting to monopolise the petroleum sector through its direct fuel distribution initiative. The group insisted its operations were within a deregulated framework regulated by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), calling the claims “legally and factually incorrect.”
Labour Ministry Intervenes
The Ministry of Labour and Employment convened another peace meeting on Friday at the Department of State Services headquarters in Abuja, following the breakdown of a memorandum of understanding signed earlier in the week.
According to NUPENG President Williams Akporeha, both parties were reminded to respect Tuesday’s agreement. “The meeting has ended. The status of the communiqué must be maintained by all parties,” he told Saturday PUNCH.
The latest intervention came after NUPENG accused Dangote of breaching the deal by directing drivers to remove the union’s stickers from trucks and adopt those of the newly formed Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association, which the union alleged was sponsored by management.
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On Thursday, union members blocked the refinery’s main entrance, halting fuel loading operations. NUPENG accused the company of undermining workers’ rights to unionisation and using “falsehoods” to weaken the Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch.
In a counter-statement, Dangote Group’s spokesman Anthony Chiejina denied the allegations, insisting the refinery fully supports constitutionally protected labour rights and allows employees to freely affiliate with any recognised union.
