BY EDMOND ODOK – In a desperate move to stop the planned nationwide strike over alleged anti-union policy among others, the Federal Government has summoned the Dangote Group and the leadership of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to an emergency meeting today, Monday, 8th September 2025.
The meeting, arranged by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, on behalf of government, seeks to defuse rising tensions over perceived anti-unionisation policies at the refinery
The Minister announced on Sunday that all parties involved have been invited to a conciliation meeting taking place in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
A statement signed by the Ministry’s Head of Information and Public Relations, Patience Onuobia, said Dingyadi appealed to NUPENG to suspend its planned shutdown of petroleum operations and also urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to withdraw the “red alert” it issued in solidarity with oil workers.
The Minister’s statement said, “I have invited all the parties for a conciliation meeting tomorrow, Monday, September 8, 2025. Since I have intervened, I plead with NUPENG to rescind their decision to shut down the petroleum sector from tomorrow. I also appeal to the NLC to withdraw the red alert it issued to its affiliate unions to be on standby for a nationwide strike.”
This is as Dingyadi also cautioned that industrial action in the petroleum sector would trigger widespread hardship across the country and inflict heavy losses on government revenue.
He said, “The petroleum sector is very important to this country. It constitutes the core of the country’s economy. A strike in the petroleum sector, even for just a day, will have an adverse impact. It will not only lead to revenue losses running into billions of naira but also cause untold hardship for Nigerians”.
Pleading with all stakeholders to embrace peace and dialogue, the Minister assured that the government will broker a resolution acceptable to both labour and the private refinery, adding, “The matter will be resolved amicably to the satisfaction of all the parties involved.”
The government’s intervention may have come a little bit late as NUPENG insisted that the industrial action would go ahead, pending the outcome of the meeting with the government today (Monday).
On Friday, the Oil Union had announced that it would begin an industrial action on September 8, 2025, a development that could lead to fuel scarcity.
It stated that the decision stemmed from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s plan to import 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks for direct fuel distribution to retailers.
While endorsing the oil workers’ action, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had written to its over 54 affiliates and 36 councils to prepare to join the strike, saying the battle, among others, is the survival of Labour movement and dignity of workers.
The strike raises fears of fuel scarcity, economic paralysis, and social unrest if the issues raised by NUPENG and NLC are not resolved quickly.
