Africa’s richest man and the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has accused the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) of collecting as much as N50,000 on every truck that loads fuel at the refinery, warning that such charges ultimately push up fuel pump prices and burden consumers.
While NUPENG neither confirmed nor denied the allegation, industry experts wondered how the oil union became a tax collector, stressing that such actions would definitely raise the pump prices of refined petroleum products.
Speaking to newsmen while responding to NUPENG’s accusations that his company is preventing drivers of its newly deployed 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks from joining the union, Dangote said the union’s levies are unsustainable.
“I am saying that there are several charges here, where if a truck is going to load, NUPENG has been collecting about N50,000 or N48,000 on each truck. By the time everybody collects their own, you are talking about N80,000 to N84,000. So, who pays for that cost? The consumer actually pays,” Dangote declared.
He described such charges as acts of rent-seeking that discourage efficiency in the sector. According to him, the company has learned from its past experiences as a fuel importer, when transporters allegedly held Dangote Group “by the neck,” compelling him to establish an in-house fleet under his brother’s management.
“Now that we have launched our own CNG trucks, we will not allow any group to hold us hostage. If there is no evacuation, there is nothing we can do,” he stressed.
Dangote further reiterated that no driver or worker should be compelled to join a union, insisting that the constitution and labour laws make union membership voluntary.
“If anybody wants to join the union, even our own workers, we say, ‘Fine, go and join.’ But it must be voluntary. Even religion is voluntary—you cannot force anyone to convert,” he said.
The controversy comes after NUPENG shut down depots recently and briefly blockaded the Dangote refinery over disputes surrounding drivers’ unionisation.
The Federal Government intervened, brokering a memorandum of understanding between the parties. However, tensions remain high despite an industrial court order in Abuja barring NUPENG from further blockades.
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