The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared full solidarity with its affiliate, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), accusing the Dangote Group of what it described as “crude anti-union tactics, exploitative labour practices, and monopolistic capture of the economy.”
By Chimezie Godfrey
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared full solidarity with its affiliate, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), accusing the Dangote Group of what it described as “crude anti-union tactics, exploitative labour practices, and monopolistic capture of the economy.”
In a strongly worded statement issued on Saturday, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said the complaints raised by NUPENG were not isolated but part of a long pattern of “union-busting, poor wages, and indecent work conditions” across the conglomerate.
“This is not just an attack on petroleum workers, it is a full-blown declaration of war against the Nigerian working class,” Ajaero declared. “Our people were promised jobs and industrialisation, but what we see is monopoly capitalism—where workers are treated as disposable and Nigerians are forced to subsidise obscene private wealth.”
For workers like Musa Ibrahim, a casual hand at one of the group’s facilities in Lagos, the allegations ring true. “We are treated like machines,” he told Newsdiaryonline. “Most of us don’t have contracts, no health insurance, and when we complain, they tell us we can leave if we don’t like it.”
The NLC cited evidence that the Dangote Refinery—hailed as a national game-changer—pays among the lowest wages in the oil and gas sector. Workers are allegedly denied the constitutional right to join unions, coerced instead into “company unions” designed to weaken their bargaining power. The Congress also pointed to past controversies, such as the recruitment of welders and fitters from India while qualified Nigerians remained jobless.
“This is not patriotism,” Ajaero said. “This is plunder. Dangote enjoys waivers and concessions from the Nigerian treasury, yet he imports foreign labour and suppresses Nigerian workers. If this continues, it will set a dangerous precedent where powerful capital openly defies our laws.”
The labour movement has now placed its rank and file on “red alert.” According to the NLC, it will not hesitate to mobilise nationwide resistance, including industrial action, if the Federal Government fails to rein in Dangote’s “reckless anti-union path.”
“The attack on NUPENG is an attack on us all,” Ajaero warned. “If Dangote does not halt this anti-people agenda, we will move beyond words to action. Nigerian workers are not slaves. Our solidarity is not negotiable.”
Meanwhile, some workers at Dangote’s facilities, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, told Newsdiaryonline that they live in constant fear of losing their jobs if they attempt to organise. “You can’t even talk about union here,” one said. “The management will blacklist you immediately.”
The NLC’s statement has sparked fresh debate about the role of Nigeria’s most powerful conglomerate in shaping not only the economy but also labour relations. For many, the clash is about more than wages—it is about the soul of the Nigerian workplace.