The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has clarified that joining trade unions is a matter of choice for its employees, stressing that it fully respects both the Nigerian Constitution and international labour conventions.
The clarification followed recent claims by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), which accused the refinery of preventing drivers from unionising. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the company dismissed the allegations as baseless and said it neither interferes with nor restricts workers’ rights to freely associate.
According to Dangote Refinery, it maintains cooperative ties with recognised unions, including NUPENG, and has provided facilities within its premises to support their activities. The firm said it has always allowed dues collection, meetings, and union engagement without obstruction.
The company also highlighted that it offers robust welfare packages to its drivers, particularly those under the new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucking scheme, with salaries reportedly three times higher than the national minimum wage, alongside pensions, insurance, housing allowances, and access to loans.
Beyond employment benefits, the refinery announced that the rollout of 10,000 CNG trucks would generate about 60,000 direct jobs and countless indirect opportunities. It described the N720bn project as a major step toward lowering logistics costs, extending refined fuel supply to rural areas, and advancing Nigeria’s energy transition programme.
Since its commissioning a year ago, the refinery said Nigeria has moved from being Africa’s largest fuel importer to a net exporter, with shipments reaching markets in the United States. It credited this shift with ending recurring fuel shortages, stabilising pump prices, and improving product quality.
The company further pointed to its wider impact, noting that more than 570,000 jobs have been created across logistics, construction, and plant maintenance, while host communities have benefitted from new infrastructure such as roads, electricity, and water supply.
On claims that it is monopolising the downstream sector, Dangote dismissed them as recycled accusations aimed at discrediting its investments. The firm urged other investors to take similar bold steps in supporting Nigeria’s economy rather than “remaining on the sidelines.”
