Falana knocks Dangote over anti-union move, calls for FG’s intervention
By Jeffrey Agbo
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has urged the Federal Government to step in and restrain the management of Dangote Refinery from implementing a policy that seeks to bar new drivers from joining established unions in the oil and gas sector.
The National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers (NUPENG) had earlier announced that its members would embark on an indefinite strike starting Monday, September 9, 2025, over what it described as Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s attempt to compel new drivers to sign anti-union undertakings.
In a statement on Sunday, Falana said the alleged policy violates Section 40 of the Constitution, Section 12 of the Trade Union Act, and Article 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.
He further noted that the policy contravenes international labour conventions, including the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other covenants Nigeria has ratified.
Falana declared: “In view of the legal obligations imposed on the Federal Government of Nigeria by the Constitution, Trade Union Act, and international law to respect the fundamental rights of workers to freedom of association, the Registrar of Trade Unions should call Dangote Petroleum Refinery to order without delay.
“At the same time, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should halt the monopolistic practices of the Dangote Group forthwith, as they violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 2018.
“Even though powerful trade unions exist in all capitalist countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, the Dangote Group appears determined to undermine trade unions in Nigeria because it has been allowed to operate outside the ambit of the law.
“However, the Dangote Group should be reminded that the struggle of Nigerian workers to unionise was fought and won under the British colonial regime. To that extent, we support the strike of the National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers against the policy of the Dangote Group, which seeks to erode the rights of Nigerian workers to unionise.”
