The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has suspended its planned nationwide strike, following a resolution reached with the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on Monday, September 8, 2025, both parties agreed to commence the unionization of employees at the refinery and petrochemical plant in line with Nigerian labour laws.
The MoU was signed by Sayyu Dantata, Managing Director, Dangote Group; Ogbugo Ukoha, Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA); Benson Upah, Acting General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC); and Nuhu Toro, General Secretary, Trade Union Congress (TUC).
“The management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals agreed to the unionization of employees of Dangote Refinery and unionization of employees of Petrochemicals, who are willing to unionize.
That the process of unionization shall commence immediately and be completed within two weeks (9th – 22nd September, 2025), and it was agreed that the employer will not set up any other union,” the agreement reads.
The deal also assured workers that there would be no victimization or retaliation against any employee who participated in the strike notice.
“Arising from the strike notice, no worker or employee of Dangote refinery and Petrochemical will be victimized. Parties will revert to the Honourable Minister of Labour a week after the conclusion of the engagement,” the MoU stated.
Following the agreement, NUPENG announced that it had decided to suspend the industrial action with immediate effect.
The strike action was initially scheduled to begin on September 8, in protest of alleged anti-union practices by the Dangote refinery. The planned shutdown had sparked concerns over potential fuel supply disruptions nationwide.
