THE Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, has summoned the management of Dangote group and the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, to an emergency meeting today, in a frantic effort to halt the planned nationwide strike over alleged anti-union policy, among others.

The summons came against the backdrop of the oil workers’ plan to embark to begin a nationwide strike today, which is already endorsed by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC.

NUPENG on Friday, alleged that “the crude and dangerous anti-union practices, monopolistic agenda, and indecent industrial relations strategies being pursued by Aliko Dangote and his associates represent not just an attack on petroleum workers, but a full-blown declaration of war against the Nigerian working class, trade unionism, and the principle of decent work.’’

The union also alleged that Dangote Refinery “pays one of the lowest wages in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria today and treats its staff beneath acceptable standards.”

It warned that its latest recruitment condition barring drivers from joining any oil and gas union was a violation of Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, the Labour Act, and ILO Conventions 98 and 87.

“This marks a dangerous road to fascism in industrial relations, where workers are treated as slaves without voice or dignity,” NUPENG warned.

A letter from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, dated September 6, 2025, and signed by the Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, Falonipe Amo, on behalf of the minister, read: “I am directed to refer to a letter dated 6th September, 2025 with Ref No. HO/Adm/114/2025 from the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers on the above subject and invite you to a tripartite conciliation meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment.

‘’The meeting is slated for 3 pm today at the Minister of Labour and Employment’s conference room.’’

Ahead of the meeting, leaders of NUPENG have directed all members nationwide to begin an indefinite nationwide strike, pending the resolution of all the grievances with Dangote Group.

An official of NUPENG who confirmed the invitation by the minister, said: “Though we will attend the meeting to show that we are ready for dialogue and amicable resolution of the matter, the strike goes on as planned until all the issues are resolved.”

Disowning unknown Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association, DTCDA, NUPENG described the association as a “management-inspired fraud” created to weaken and divide workers.

DTCDA had weekend, urged Nigerians to disregard NUPENG’s strike alert issued by the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch of the union.

But NUPENG in a statement by Prince Williams Akporeha, President, and Olawale Afolabi, General Secretary, rejected the group outright.

It declared: “We ask our members, members of the public and independent-minded, objective segments of the media to disregard, DTCDA and its statements.

“For the information of the public, the DTCDA is the association which Dangote Group of Companies has formed for the drivers to join compulsorily, rather than allowing them to join NUPENG which is the only statutorily recognised union authorised to unionise petroleum tanker drivers. The signatory to the statement of DTCDA, one Enoch Kanawa, is a lawyer, not a tanker driver.”

NUPENG pointed out that Kanawa had a long history with oil industry employers, not workers, explaining that “Kanawa was formerly the Executive Secretary of National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, from 2001 to 2012, left NARTO to become Legal Adviser to MRS Energy Limited of Sayyu Aliu Dantata and in 2019 came back to contest for the position of the President of NARTO but was defeated by Yusuf Othman, the current President of NARTO. ‘’These facts are to show without doubt and beyond controversy that the DTCDA is a management-inspired association and the news was created by the agents of Sayyu Aliu Dantata to create confusion and misinformation.

“DTCDA is the association formed by Sayyu Aliu Dantata, the owner of MRS. The Direct Trucking Company Limited is the recruiting company formed by him and Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the 10,000 CNG trucks they are importing.

‘’DTCDA was originally meant to be Dangote Transport Company. Its registered office is at 2, Tincan Island Port Road, Apapa, Lagos. The address of DTCDA is the same official address of MRS Energy Limited.”

Assuring members and the public of its resolve, NUPENG declared that there was no division in its ranks, despite attempts by “union busters” to sow confusion.

“There is no division in our ranks and file, our solidarity remains constant! For the union makes us strong!! Our solidarity remains constant, for the union makes us strong!”