A coalition of civil society organizations has condemned the actions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) for actions that could destabilize the nation.
The coalition on Tuesday accused the three associations of pursuing what they described as an “anti-people agenda” targeted at undermining the Dangote Refinery.
The groups, including the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON), Nigerian Interfaith Forum (NIF), National Coalition for Market Men, Women and Artisans (NACOMWA), and Petroleum Consumers Protection Alliance (PCPA), staged a rally to the Presidential Villa and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja.
In a joint statement signed by COCSON President, Comrade Ibrahim Suleiman, NIF National Chairman, Rev. Dr. Mathew Ayodele, NACOMWA President, Comrade Boma Agbede, and PCPA Chairman, Yusuf Danladi, the coalition urged security agencies to arrest the leaders of the unions for allegedly violating a subsisting court order on strike.
“The actions and threats by the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), alongside the ill-timed strike threats by PENGASSAN, TUC, and NUPENG, represent nothing short of a direct assault on the Nigerian people, our economy, and our future. This is a direct call by PENGASSAN, NUPENG and TUC for anarchy.
“President Tinubu should hold these people responsible if there is a breakdown of law and order in this country and they should be immediately arrested for disobedience to court order,” the groups said.
They alleged that DAPPMAN was seeking to frustrate the Dangote Refinery in order to preserve its dominance in petroleum importation.
“For decades, Nigerians have been held hostage by a cartel that thrives on import dependency, round-tripping, subsidy scams, and artificial scarcity.
“DAPPMAN, an organisation that should be a partner in progress, has chosen instead to undermine the Dangote Refinery and other indigenous refining initiatives because they fear competition, transparency, and efficiency,” the statement added.
Read also:
- FG’s attempt to mediate Dangote Refinery, PENGASSAN feud fails
- PENGASSAN threatens legal action against Dangote Refinery over sack of 800 workers
- TUC demands an apology from Dangote following sack of workers
The CSOs further expressed concern over the planned industrial action by PENGASSAN, NUPENG, and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which they argued was not in the interest of workers but in support of vested interests.
“Let us be clear: this is not a strike for workers. It is a strike for cartels. This is not a fight for fairness. It is a fight against Nigeria’s independence in refining.
“History will not forgive any union that aligns with saboteurs against the very people they claim to represent,” they declared.
They commended a recent Federal High Court ruling restraining PENGASSAN from disrupting gas supply to the Dangote Refinery, describing it as validation of their position that the strike threats were “a calculated move to sabotage Nigeria’s refining revolution.”
The coalition urged the government to protect the refinery from union interference, arguing that membership of private-sector unions should not be forced.
“ASUU is the union of university lecturers in Nigeria, but it does not go after Covenant, Baze, Babcock, JABU, or Crescent universities to force their lecturers into membership.
“NURTW is the union of road transport workers, yet it does not force the drivers of God is Good, GUO, Ekeson, or Chisco into its ranks.
“NUT is the union of teachers in primary and secondary schools, yet it does not march into Chrisland, Grange, British International School, or Charterhouse to compel teachers to join.
“So why should Dangote Refinery, a private enterprise built with private sweat and risk, solving our collective refining crisis, be forced into the grip of PENGASSAN or any union that can shut it down at will?
“If any worker at Dangote Refinery is unhappy and feels the need for union protection, let them seek employment elsewhere or test their grievances in court.
“Nigerians cannot allow a situation where, after decades of suffering from fuel imports, one man builds a world-class refinery, and a union claims the power to cripple it at will,” the CSOs said.
