Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has moved to allay fears of a fuel shortage, insisting that operations remain stable despite an ongoing strike by fuel tanker drivers under the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
A spokesman for the refinery, Mr Anthony Chiejina, told AFP on Tuesday that there was no disruption in petrol distribution. “There is no fuel shortage, everything is going on,” he said, confirming that talks were underway between the government, the company, and the union.
The strike, which began on Monday, has drawn solidarity from the Nigeria Labour Congress, as well as international organisations such as IndustriALL in Switzerland and the International Lawyers Assisting Workers in Washington. NUPENG president, Mr Williams Akporeha, accused Dangote of recruiting new drivers on the condition that they do not join a union.
“What Dangote has shown over time is that he’s not prepared to have workers that will have a say in his employment,” Akporeha told Arise News.
Chiejina dismissed the allegation as “cheap blackmail,” insisting, “It’s not true… nobody has done that and nobody ever has.”
READ ALSO: Fuel scarcity imminent as tanker drivers shun depots Monday over union dispute – NUPENG
Since its commissioning last year, the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery has significantly altered Nigeria’s petroleum market, reducing petrol prices and weakening the dominance of traditional fuel importers. However, its growing influence has also raised monopoly concerns.
The refinery had recently announced plans to deploy thousands of compressed natural gas-powered trucks to distribute petrol nationwide, but logistical delays have slowed the rollout.
This has unsettled a market long controlled by more than 20,000 diesel-powered tankers.
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