Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has urged the Federal Government to intervene in the standoff between NUPENG and the Dangote Group over alleged anti-union practices.

Falana accused Dangote Refinery of compelling newly recruited drivers to sign contracts prohibiting them from joining established oil and gas unions.

NUPENG had announced on Friday that its members would stop work from 8 September 2025, in protest at what it described as Dangote Refinery’s bid to block its compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker drivers from unionising. While the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) have rejected the strike, NUPENG reaffirmed its commitment on Sunday.

In solidarity, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) declared plans to suspend lifting and dispensing petroleum products for three days starting Tuesday, 9 September.

Reacting to the escalating crisis, Falana argued that Dangote’s policy violated Nigeria’s Constitution, the Trade Union Act, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and several international agreements Nigeria has ratified, including the ILO Conventions 87 and 98.

In a strongly worded statement, he said:
“The National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers has directed its members in the oil and gas industry to embark on an indefinite strike on Monday, 9 September 2025, against the plan of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to force newly recruited drivers to renounce union membership. This contravenes Section 40 of the Constitution, Section 12 of the Trade Union Act, and Article 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

“Furthermore, it breaches provisions of the ILO Conventions 87 and 98, as well as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

Falana urged the Registrar of Trade Unions to compel the Dangote Group to reverse its policy and asked the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate alleged monopolistic practices by the company.

He accused the Dangote Group of attempting to eliminate trade unions in Nigeria, contrasting this with the situation in advanced capitalist economies where unions thrive.
“The Dangote Group must be reminded that Nigerian workers fought for and won the right to unionise under British colonial rule. We therefore support NUPENG’s strike against any policy that undermines workers’ rights,” he declared.