NUPENG suspends strike after DSS brokered truce with Dangote

•Unionisation process to beryllium completed successful 2 weeks

•Labour vows strict monitoring

By Victor Ahiuma-Young & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA—The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has suspended its nationwide strike, aft reaching an statement with the absorption of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited connected workers’ unionisation.

NUPENG had connected Monday declared a nationwide concern enactment to protestation refusal of the Dangote Group to let its workers to articulation the union.

The onslaught had raised fears of imminent substance scarcity crossed the country.

The breakthrough came during a two-day high-level conciliation gathering convened by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, successful Abuja, with the involution of the Department of State Services, DSS.

Also successful attendance astatine yesterday’s gathering were the ministers of labour and finance, representatives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC.

The Dangote absorption squad was led by Mr. Sayyu Dantata, Group Managing Director.

Unionisation secured

In the signed Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, Dangote absorption accepted that unionisation was a cardinal close of its employees and pledged to instrumentality it without interference.

“The absorption is not averse to unionisation. We volition abide by the provisions of the instrumentality and guarantee employees who privation to articulation unions are escaped to bash truthful without interference,” Mr. Sayyu Dantata, Managing Director of Dangote Group who led the squad was quoted arsenic saying, aft signing the agreement.

The MoU further stipulated that “unionisation of employees indispensable beryllium completed betwixt September 9 and 22, 2025, nary employer-sponsored oregon alternate unions volition beryllium created, nary idiosyncratic volition beryllium victimised for participating successful the onslaught oregon supporting unionisation and some parties volition study backmost to the curate of labour a week aft the process concludes.”

Speaking with Vanguard, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, said the prime of the DSS bureau was to person a antithetic environment, adding that it afforded the accidental for the curate of concern to beryllium successful attendance.

On his part, the President of NUPENG,  Williams Akporeha, said each contentious issues were resolved.

He said: “We signed statement and members person agreed to unionisation of workers successful Dangote Petrochemical refinery.”

He said the onslaught was to beryllium called disconnected immediately, adding that tankers had started loading petroleum products.

On the alleged uncompromising behaviour exhibited by the Dangote refinery representative, the NUPENG President said the Dangote squad denied immoderate specified thing.

He said: “They said they didn’t locomotion out. The antheral (Dangote refinery representative) said helium was bare and has ulcer, truthful helium had to spell and eat, that determination was thing similar helium walked out.”

Asked wherefore the contentious issues were not resolved connected Monday nighttime meeting, Akporeha said: “They tried to bring successful immoderate clauses. They didn’t hold connected our ain input portion we did not besides hold connected their input but contiguous (yesterday), we person been capable to harmonise that and we person signed.”

Highlighting immoderate of the clauses successful contention, helium said: ”They brought successful this DTCDA (Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association) which they don’t person close to bash and we person besides said that going forward, they shouldn’t unit immoderate national connected the workers, the absorption should not make immoderate national for the workers.”

The DTCDA is simply a caller national formed by the absorption of Dangote refinery for its workers, but the NUPENG brag said it had been agreed that it should beryllium disbanded, adding that the ministry of labour had already declared it an amerciable organisation.

Acting General Secretary of NLC, Benson Upah, who led the NLC team, said: “This statement reaffirms that unionisation is not a privilege but a cardinal right. Nigerian workers astatine the Dangote Refinery volition nary longer beryllium treated arsenic outsiders successful their ain industry.”

The MoU was signed by Mr. Sayyu Dantata and Otunba Jibrin, for the management, portion Comrade Benson Upah for NLC, Prince Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale signed for NUPENG...