The Department of State Services (DSS) has summoned the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to an emergency meeting following allegations of a breach of an agreement on workers’ rights to unionise.

The meeting, scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday at the DSS headquarters in Abuja, is expected to be attended by representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and other stakeholders, Vanguard has gathered.

On September 9, Dangote management and NUPENG signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the DSS headquarters, affirming workers’ freedom to join unions of their choice without interference. The signing was witnessed by NLC, TUC, government ministers, and other labour stakeholders.

However, less than 24 hours later, NUPENG accused Dangote of reneging on the pact,  a claim the company denied. On Thursday, the union again accused Dangote Group of being “economical with the truth” in its handling of the agreement.

In a statement jointly signed by NUPENG President, Prince Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, the union alleged that Dangote’s press release of September 11 misrepresented facts about workers’ freedom to join NUPENG.

The union claimed the company was bent on weakening NUPENG and monopolising fuel supply.

> “The press statement by Dangote Petroleum Refinery dated 11th September 2025 further confirms the company’s aim to crush our union, NUPENG, as well as stifle competition, with the ultimate goal of increasing fuel prices in the long run,” the statement read in part.

NUPENG alleged that the company had ordered the removal of its stickers from trucks, replacing them with those of the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) , an association the union claimed was created by the refinery’s management to divide tanker drivers.

The union further accused Dangote of empowering individuals who had repeatedly lost Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) elections since 2023 to serve as mouthpieces for the DTCDA, even as some of them faced criminal charges at the FCT High Court for violent attacks against NUPENG leaders.

The statement added:

“Nigerians must not be deceived by the company’s offer of free nationwide fuel delivery. This move is aimed at discouraging other employers from hiring tanker drivers so that only Dangote-employed drivers — compelled to join the DTCDA — will remain in the workforce. The strategy is clearly to crush NUPENG and its PTD Branch.”

NUPENG also accused the company of extending its alleged anti-union stance to operational and administrative staff at the refinery, noting that Dangote Group has historically resisted unionisation in its cement and sugar plants across Nigeria.

As of press time, Dangote Group had not responded to the latest allegations. In its earlier statement, however, the company maintained that association with any trade union at its refinery remains strictly voluntary, in line with Nigerian labour laws and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.