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By Tracy Moses
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has reaffirmed its resolve to embark on a nationwide strike beginning Monday, declaring that its national secretariat is fully mobilized for the action.
The union said there would be no retreat from the planned industrial action, which it says is necessary to resist the alleged refusal of the management of Dangote Refinery to allow drivers of its newly imported Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to belong to any labour union.
In a joint statement released on Sunday in Abuja by its President, Comrade Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Comrade Afolabi Olawale, NUPENG emphasized that the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the union would suspend the lifting of petroleum products from depots across the country.
The union also distanced itself from a statement credited to Barrister Enoch Kanawa, who described himself as the President of the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA). Kanawa had urged Nigerians to ignore NUPENG’s strike declaration, claiming the union could not speak for tanker drivers.
Reacting, NUPENG alleged that the so-called DTCDA was a product of Dangote Refinery’s management, created to frustrate its organizing efforts. It stressed that NUPENG remains the only legally recognized body empowered to unionize petroleum tanker drivers.
The union pointed out that Kanawa is a lawyer and not a tanker driver, insisting there was no division within its ranks. It accused Dangote Refinery and its associates of using Kanawa to mislead the public.
According to NUPENG, the Direct Trucking Company Limited was established by Alhaji Sayyu Aliu Dantata and Alhaji Aliko Dangote to handle the recruitment of drivers for the 10,000 CNG trucks they are bringing into the country.
The statement partly read:
“Our attention has been drawn to a report on ARISE Television and some newspapers of September 6, 2025, in which a group parading itself as the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) asked Nigerians to disregard our notice of withdrawal of services by the PTD branch of NUPENG. We urge our members, the public, and the media to ignore this group and its false claims.”
The union further disclosed that Kanawa had a long history of working with oil industry players, citing his tenure as Executive Secretary of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) between 2001 and 2012, and later as Legal Adviser to MRS Energy Limited.
It added that in 2019, Kanawa contested for the NARTO presidency under the sponsorship of Sayyu Dantata but lost to the current President, Alhaji Yusuf Othman.
“These facts confirm that the DTCDA is nothing but a management-sponsored association designed to create disunity and confusion among tanker drivers. There is no crack in our union, and our solidarity remains unshaken,” the statement said.
NUPENG also alleged that the DTCDA shares the same registered address with MRS Energy Limited, further proving its ties to Dantata.
It warned that any attempt to deny workers the freedom to belong to unions amounted to modern-day slavery.
“Slavery ended centuries ago, yet some powerful interests are trying to reintroduce it through exploitative conditions. No Nigerian worker should be forced into such bondage. We will resist it with every legitimate tool at our disposal,” NUPENG vowed.