Dangote Challenges NUPENG to Unmask $18bn Refinery Spenders Amid Union Dispute

The standoff between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) escalated on Friday, with the refinery daring the union to reveal those responsible for the $18bn allegedly squandered on Nigeria’s state-owned refineries without results.

In a statement, Dangote questioned why the government-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna remained moribund despite repeated injections of funds for turnaround maintenance over the years. Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had earlier lamented that about $18bn was spent by successive administrations on rehabilitating the plants, yet none of them are functional.

Dangote Revisits 2007 Privatisation Row
Dangote also reminded NUPENG of its role in opposing the 2007 privatisation of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries. At the time, a consortium that included Dangote acquired stakes in the plants, but the union and other stakeholders mounted pressure on the government to reverse the sale.

“Today, Nigerians must ask what became of these refineries,” the company said. “About $18bn has been wasted in the name of rehabilitation. Who spent these huge sums without results? Can NUPENG help Nigerians unravel this mystery?”

Union Rights Dispute Deepens
The refinery’s statement came in the heat of a labour dispute over alleged moves to prevent Dangote’s petroleum tanker drivers from joining NUPENG. The union has accused the company of undermining workers’ rights, sponsoring a rival association, and attempting to monopolise the petroleum distribution space.

On Monday, NUPENG shut down fuel depots nationwide in protest, suspending the action on Tuesday after a Ministry of Labour-brokered truce. However, tensions resurfaced on Thursday when the union claimed Dangote had violated the peace deal by ordering drivers to remove NUPENG stickers from trucks and replace them with those of a newly formed Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association.

In response, NUPENG members blocked the main entrance to the refinery, halting fuel loading operations. The union also warned against what it described as a “Greek gift” of free nationwide petroleum delivery by Dangote Refinery, alleging it was a ploy to stifle competition and weaken union power.

FG Seeks Truce
Efforts to calm the dispute continued on Friday as the Ministry of Labour convened another meeting at the Department of State Services headquarters in Abuja. The Dangote delegation was led by Alhaji Sayyu Dantata of MRS Oil, while NUPENG was represented by its President, Williams Akporeha.

Speaking after the meeting, Akporeha said both parties had been instructed to abide by the memorandum of understanding signed earlier in the week. “The status of the communiqué must be maintained by all parties,” he noted.

Dangote Denies Monopolistic Moves
Meanwhile, Dangote Group, through its spokesman Anthony Chiejina, rejected accusations of undermining labour rights. The company maintained that its operations remain under the regulatory oversight of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and that employees are free to affiliate with any recognised union.

“Assertions of monopolistic intent are both legally and factually incorrect,” the statement read. “We remain committed to respecting constitutionally protected labour rights.”

As the refinery, touted as Africa’s largest, continues to navigate both regulatory hurdles and labour disputes, the spotlight has now shifted to the unresolved question Dangote posed: who truly benefited from the billions of dollars sunk into Nigeria’s failed refineries?