The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has indeed mobilized truck drivers to blockade the gates of the Dangote Refinery, halting fuel loading operations and escalating a bitter dispute over workers' union rights.
The action, which began on Thursday, September 11, stems from the rapid collapse of a government-brokered Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed just two days earlier, threatening potential fuel shortages across Nigeria.
The truce, mediated by the Department of State Services (DSS) on September 9 with federal ministers in attendance, promised refinery employees the right to unionize freely under labor laws.
However, NUPENG accuses Dangote management—specifically Alhaji Sayyu Aliu Dantata, a logistics director and managing director of MRS Oil Nigeria Plc—of violating the deal by ordering long-time union members to remove NUPENG stickers from their trucks and forcing non-compliant vehicles to load fuel.
Union officials responded by barricading the refinery's entrance in Lekki, Lagos, using their own trucks to block access for vehicles without union stickers.
Eyewitness accounts and union statements describe a tense standoff: NUPENG reinforced the blockade after learning of plans to deploy towing vehicles to clear the path.
"Our men heard that the management of Dangote is planning to bring towing vehicles to remove the trucks NUPENG is using to block MRS trucks," a union source revealed, prompting the deployment of additional trucks to seal the entire gate.
Videos circulating on social media show lines of stationary tankers, with drivers chanting union slogans.
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