NUPENG suspends strike as Dangote agrees to unionise workers

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has suspended its nationwide strike after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed yesterday at the end of the conciliation meeting between the management of the Dangote Group and NUPENG, held at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in Abuja.

The Dangote Group finally agreed to the unionisation of its willing employees.

They came to terms as both parties signed the MoU.

The signed document indicates that the process of unionisation shall commence immediately and be completed within two weeks.

It was, however, agreed that the employer would not set up any other union.

The MoU was signed by the Managing Director of Dangote Group, Sayyu Dantata, on behalf of Dangote management, while Otunba Jubrin and O.K. Ukoha signed for Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Others, who signed the MoU include Benson Upah, representing Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC); Nuhu Toro for Trade Union Congress (TUC); and NUPENG President and General Secretary, Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale, respectively.

Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, Amos Falonipe, stood in for the Minister of Labour.

Meanwhile, Olawale, in a message to The Guardian, said: “Victory is ours finally. We have won. We are calling off the strike and resuming work. The communique granting recognition for unionisation in Dangote Group has been finally signed by all parties.”

However, the Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP) has accused the NUPENG of extortion and excessive levies collection within the downstream sector.

This accusation came on the heels of a vote of no confidence passed on the leadership of NUPENG by the Lagos Zone of Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of the union (PTD).

The vote of no confidence was passed on Akporeha and Olawale by the association, which accused them of greed, rascality, impunity, manipulation, highhandedness, and gross incompetence in leadership.

The PTD’s position was the outcome of an emergency meeting held by the state’s zonal executives of the PTD on Monday, September 8, 2025.

following a rising tension over Dangote Refinery and MRS Holdings Limited’s alleged resistance to unionisation of its drivers and deployment of 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks across Nigeria for the nationwide distribution of petroleum products.