By Peter Omopo | September 17, 2025
Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has cautioned labour unions and oil industry stakeholders against what he described as a deliberate attempt to demonise the Dangote Refinery, urging dialogue over confrontation.
His remarks come amid a dispute between the refinery and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) as well as the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN).
NUPENG had recently shut down depots in protest, alleging that the refinery barred truck drivers from joining the union, contrary to the provisions of the Trade Union Act. DAPPMAN, meanwhile, accused the refinery of stifling competition by selling fuel to international traders at cheaper rates than to Nigerian marketers.
Although the Department of State Services (DSS) has stepped in to mediate, tensions have continued to disrupt activities in the downstream sector.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, Ndume warned against what he called “a poisonous media narrative to paint Dangote in a bad light in the eyes of Nigerians and the international community.”
He urged NUPENG, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), and other stakeholders to embrace constructive dialogue, saying:
“Our common goal should be to balance labour rights with national development, not put citizens at the receiving end of a needless power tussle.”
The Borno South senator recalled that successive administrations had granted multiple licenses to private operators to build refineries, but most never went beyond paper.
“Before Dangote took the risk to build his refinery, licenses were granted to 12 private operators as far back as 2002. Again, in 2007, nine new licenses were issued after the first batch was revoked. How many of them built refineries? Many cashed in on crude oil allocations instead,” he said.
Ndume argued that it was therefore unfair to accuse Dangote of monopolising the sector, stressing that the Federal Government had already deregulated the market under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“It is wrong to talk about monopoly in a deregulated industry. There are no deliberate bottlenecks against anyone, and no player has been given special concessions,” he maintained.
He further called on regulators, including the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), to step in decisively and prevent disputes from undermining fuel distribution nationwide.
