- Safiu Kehinde
A mild drama has on Friday morning ensued at the Dangote Refinery as the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) mobilised truck drivers to block the entrance of the refinery as agreement between both parties collapses.
As captured in a video shared on X, the union mobilised convoy of fuel tankers which stretched across the Dangote Refinery main entrance in Lagos.
According to a member of the union who recorded the video, Dangote had in reaction threatened to mobilise towing vehicles to clear the trucks off the refinery entrance.
This is coming hours after NUPENG’s threat to resume its suspended nationwide strike, over alleged breach of agreement.
Recall that the union had earlier this week embarked on nationwide strike over alleged anti-labour and plot to monopolise the oil industry by Aliko Dangote and his cousins Sayyu Dantata.
The FG had in response held a lengthy meeting with both parties which was initially inconclusive as they failed to reach an agreement.
An eventual agreement between the parties saw the strike lifted with plan to resume operation.
However, NUPENG in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by its National President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, accused the Dangote Group and Dantata of violating a peace agreement brokered by the Federal Government on Tuesday at the DSS headquarters to guarantee workers’ rights and industrial harmony.
The union alleged that Dantata, who owns MRS fuel station, had on Wednesday directed all his truck drivers to remove the NUPENG stickers from their vehicles.
“On September 10, Alhaji Sayyu Dantata instructed all his truck drivers, who have been members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers branch of NUPENG for several years, to remove union stickers from their trucks.
“On September 11, he further directed the drivers to storm the Dangote Refinery for loading, in spite of our officials blocking them over violations of established loading rules and regulations.” The statement partly read