The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has announced its readiness to mobilise workers nationwide in resistance against what it described as the “anti-union, anti-worker, and monopolistic practices” of the Dangote Group.
In a statement issued on Saturday, September 6, 2025, and signed by its president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the NLC declared that it stands “in full solidarity with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).”
This followed a petition and alarm raised by the NUPENG over alleged union-busting and exploitative labour practices at Dangote companies, especially the refinery.
The Congress described the allegations as a “full-blown declaration of war against the Nigerian working class, trade unionism, and the principle of decent work.”
It further accused the conglomerate of maintaining “a consistent record of union-busting, exploitative labour practices, and monopolistic capture of markets to the detriment of both workers and the Nigerian people.”
According to the statement, “We have it on good authority that Dangote Refinery pays one of the lowest wages in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria today and treats its staff members beneath acceptable standards.”
“The Nigerian people were promised that the Dangote Refinery and associated operations would create jobs, deepen industrialization, and promote national self-sufficiency. Instead, what we are witnessing is the classic playbook of primitive capitalism as the group resorts to monopolistic Capture,” the union said.
On workers’ rights, the labour body alleged that Dangote had “systematically denied workers their constitutional right to freedom of association by preventing them from joining trade unions of their choice, forcing them into ‘company unions’ designed to weaken collective power.”
It also charged that Dangote companies “thrive on casualization, poor wages, and unsafe working conditions; all in direct violation of the ILO’s Decent Work agenda to which Nigeria is a signatory and in contradiction to the promise which Dangote holds on paper.”
The NLC condemned the preference for foreign nationals over qualified Nigerians, recalling: “We remember the case of the Asian welders and fitters that were recruited from India and others while capable Nigerian welders and fitters languished in the unemployment queue.”
On price manipulation, the statement accused the group of worsening poverty: “Instead of lowering costs for Nigerians, the Dangote monopoly exploits scarcity and control of distribution to raise prices, thereby deepening poverty and hardship.
“This is not industrialization; it is economic sabotage. It is not nation-building; it is class robbery, where the working masses subsidize the obscene wealth of rich families through exploitation and manipulation in cahoots with cronies in government.”
The union also faulted the company’s alleged recruitment policies, warning that attempts to hire drivers on the condition that they must not belong to NUPENG or any oil industry union “directly violates Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, the Labour Act, and ILO Conventions 98 and 87 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise and Collectively Bargain.”
Declaring its next steps, the NLC said, “We hereby unequivocally condemn the anti-union, anti-worker, and monopolistic practices of the Dangote Group and its affiliates.”
The organisation outlined several demands, starting with an appeal to the Federal Government to “call Dangote to order,” insisting that the company’s operations must align with labour laws and international conventions. It also called for the “immediate unionization” of workers across all Dangote subsidiaries.
Raising a nationwide “Red Alert” for its state councils and industrial unions, the NLC vowed to “mobilize for resistance” alongside NUPENG, promising to back industrial action if necessary. It warned regulators, particularly the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Authority, that “history will hold them complicit” if they ignore violations while “a few individuals privatize the nation’s energy future.”
The Congress urged Nigerians to “see through the deception,” branding Dangote’s model as “plunder, not philanthropy” and “dispossession and enslavement” rather than genuine development.
Warning of consequences, the statement added: “We warn that if Dangote continues on this reckless anti-union path, the NLC and its affiliates will move beyond words to action. We will confront this tyranny head-on until victory is secured for Nigerian workers and the Nigerian people.”
“Our Constitution and international conventions guarantee our right to organize, collectively bargain and defend our dignity at work. The NLC will resist every attempt by the Dangote Group to roll back these rights,” it said.
It concluded: “Let it be clearly understood, if the Dangote Group does not immediately halt its anti-union and anti-people agenda, the we will not hesitate to mobilize all workers across the length and breadth of this country for actions and solidarity necessary to protect our dignity and to defend Nigeria from the clutches of monopoly capital.”
Comrade Ajaero closed with a vow of resistance: “Our solidarity is not negotiable. We will fight because we must. The working class must not be sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed.”
