By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
Nigeria: FG Urges NUPENG to Halt Planned Strike, Calls Conciliation Meeting
The Federal Government has appealed to the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to suspend its planned nationwide strike scheduled to begin Monday, September 8, 2025.
Labour and Employment Minister, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, in a statement signed by the ministry’s head of information, Patience Onuobia, confirmed that a conciliation meeting has been fixed for Monday to address the dispute. The conflict centres on allegations that the Dangote Group is preventing some of its workers, including compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker drivers, from joining trade unions.
Dingyadi urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to withdraw the red alert it issued to affiliate unions in solidarity with NUPENG, stressing that disruptions in the petroleum sector would inflict significant economic losses and hardship on citizens.
“A strike in this vital sector, even for one day, will cause billions of naira in losses and untold hardship for Nigerians,” he said. “I appeal to all unions to give peace a chance while the ministry facilitates a resolution acceptable to everyone.”
Despite resistance from the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA), NUPENG has reaffirmed its decision to proceed with the strike.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has thrown his support behind NUPENG, arguing that the Dangote Group’s policy breaches the Nigerian Constitution, labour laws, and international conventions ratified by the country.
