By Mercy Gadia Adi
Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has assured the public that there will be no disruption in petrol supply despite an ongoing strike by fuel tanker drivers under the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
The strike, which began on Monday, has gained support from both local and international labour groups, but refinery officials insist that operations remain unaffected.
“There is no fuel shortage, everything is going on,” Dangote Refinery spokesman Anthony Chiejina told AFP on Tuesday. He added that discussions were ongoing between the company, the union, and the federal government to resolve the matter.
NUPENG launched the strike over allegations that the refinery was hiring new truck drivers on the condition that they would not join the union. The refinery, however, strongly denied the claims.
“It’s not true… nobody has done that and nobody has ever,” Chiejina said, describing the allegations as “cheap blackmail.”
Union leaders argue that the company is deliberately suppressing workers’ rights. NUPENG President Williams Akporeha told Arise News:
“What Dangote has shown over time is that he’s not prepared to have workers that will have a say in his employment.”
The Dangote Refinery, which opened last year with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has been hailed as a game-changer for Nigeria. Before its launch, the country imported most of its petrol despite being a leading oil producer. The refinery has since reduced fuel costs for consumers and challenged long-dominant players in Nigeria’s oil sector.
However, the company’s rapid expansion, including plans to deploy thousands of compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks nationwide, has unsettled traditional operators who have relied on over 20,000 diesel-powered tankers for decades.
The strike has received backing from the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Swiss-based global union IndustriALL, and the International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) network in Washington.
Despite the tensions, Dangote insists its priority remains ensuring nationwide fuel supply and stability in the sector.