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NLC accuses Dangote Group of union-busting and flouting labour laws
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PENGASSAN strike halts operations at NNPCL, NUPRC, NMDPRA
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Union calls for decisive action to enforce constitutional and ILO protections
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has placed its affiliate unions on full alert and declared a nationwide mobilisation against Dangote Petroleum Refinery, accusing the company of operating as a “state within a state” and violating workers’ rights.
The action follows a dispute between Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), which claims the company dismissed over 800 Nigerian workers, replacing them with foreign staff in breach of labour laws and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
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On Monday, September 29, 2025, PENGASSAN members enforced a shutdown of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). The strike also includes a halt to crude oil and gas supplies to Dangote Refinery, raising fears of nationwide fuel shortages.
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In a statement, NLC President Joe Ajaero said the company has long disregarded national labour laws, describing its industrial relations strategy as “capitalist pathology of union-busting, worker enslavement, and gross impunity.”
> “Dangote Group has operated for too long as a state within a state, flouting Section 40 of our Constitution, violating ILO Conventions 87 and 98, and treating our national labour laws with contempt,” Ajaero said.
He accused the conglomerate of turning workplaces into “plantations of exploitation” and called for immediate, decisive action from all unions.
The NLC directed all affiliate unions to prepare for a “vigorous and comprehensive unionisation of all workers within every Dangote facility” and to mobilise resources for a “full-scale engagement against the Dangote Group’s anti-labour stance.”
“The impunity of the Dangote Group must be met with the resistance of organised labour. No media verbiage or hired narratives will stop us from defending our rights,” Ajaero warned.
The union demanded that Dangote unconditionally respect workers’ right to union membership, cease intimidation, and fully comply with Nigerian labour laws and ILO conventions.
The ongoing strike has raised alarm across the energy sector, with oil marketers warning of severe disruptions in fuel distribution. Thermal power plants supplying over 70% of Nigeria’s electricity have reportedly begun shutting down, further intensifying the potential impact on nationwide power supply.
