The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has declared that no democracy can thrive where workers’ voices are suppressed, warning that attempts to undermine trade union rights in the nation’s oil and gas industry are unconstitutional and unacceptable.
The union made this declaration in a memorandum submitted to the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) during the Annual Downstream Petroleum Week Conference at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
Presenting NUPENG’s position, its General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, reminded lawmakers that Nigeria’s democracy was partly achieved through the historic struggles of trade unions such as NUPENG and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) against military dictatorship.
He stressed that the same democratic values must now be used to protect the rights of workers who sustain the nation’s energy sector.
“Let it not be forgotten that NUPENG and PENGASSAN played a historic role in restoring Nigeria’s democracy. That same democratic spirit must now protect the rights of workers who keep the nation’s energy sector alive,” the union told the lawmakers.
NUPENG expressed concern over what it described as an emerging anti-union posture at the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company, following reports that the refinery would not allow trade unions to organize newly recruited drivers for its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks.
The union argued that such a policy violates Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and international labour conventions ratified by Nigeria—particularly ILO Conventions 87 and 98—which guarantee workers’ rights to freely associate and bargain collectively.
“We commend Alhaji Aliko Dangote for his patriotic investment in the refinery, but we strongly reject any attempt to prohibit unionization. No business, no matter how strategic, can operate outside the bounds of the law,” NUPENG stated.
The union warned against policies that could exclude thousands of existing truck drivers and NUPENG members from industry benefits, insisting that energy transition must promote fairness and inclusivity.
“Energy transition must promote fairness and inclusive growth. It cannot and must not exclude workers,” it said.
NUPENG also called for the repeal of the Petroleum Production and Distribution (Anti-Sabotage) Act, describing it as a “draconian” law that criminalizes legitimate industrial actions and threatens the right to peaceful protest.
“The continued existence of such laws undermines industrial democracy and creates an atmosphere of fear among workers in a supposedly democratic society. Retaining this Act is dangerous to democracy,” the union warned.
The union further demanded that both NUPENG and PENGASSAN be formally recognized as the only statutory unions for junior and senior oil and gas workers, noting that such recognition should be a precondition for operational licensing within the sector.
It urged the National Assembly to strengthen existing labour laws in line with the 1999 Constitution, the Trade Unions Act, and judicial precedents such as Nestoil PLC v. NUPENG (2012) and Executive Chairman, SUBEB v. NASU (2021), which affirmed that union recognition is automatic unless a worker opts out.
NUPENG also called on the federal government to enforce the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Decent Work Agenda, compelling all employers and contractors in the oil and gas industry to comply with standards on collective bargaining, fair wages, social security, and safe working conditions.
“Compliance with these standards must be a precondition for the operation of any company within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry,” it emphasized.
Reaffirming its commitment to defending the rights of Nigerian workers, NUPENG declared that democracy without social justice and labour freedom is hollow.
“You cannot silence labour in a democracy,” the statement concluded. “Our voices are the conscience of the nation, and we will continue to speak for fairness, equity, and justice in the oil and gas sector.”
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