FG’S Peace Meeting with NUPENG and Dangote Ends in Deadlock

The Federal Government’s attempt to mediate the escalating face-off between the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Dangote Group has hit a brick wall, as Monday’s closed-door conciliation meeting ended without a breakthrough.

The session, convened in Abuja, was chaired by the Minister of Labour  Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, alongside the Minister of State, Nkiruka Onyejeocha. Top labour leaders, including executives of NUPENG, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), were in attendance. Representatives of the Dangote Group, MRS Petroleum, and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) also joined the talks.

The meeting was called after NUPENG, on Friday, declared that its members would down tools from September 8 over alleged attempts by the Dangote Refinery to block its compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker drivers from unionising. Despite denials from the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA), the union restated its commitment to the strike.

Concerned about the looming shutdown, the Federal Government made a last-minute plea. In a statement signed by Patience Onuobia, the ministry’s head of information, Dingyadi urged NUPENG to suspend the strike and allow dialogue to continue.

The minister appealed, saying: “I have invited all the parties for a conciliation meeting tomorrow, Monday, September 8, 2025. Since I have intervened, I plead with NUPENG to rescind their decision to shut down the petroleum sector from tomorrow. The petroleum sector is very important to this country. It constitutes the core of the economy. A strike, even for just a day, will have an adverse impact, leading to heavy revenue losses running into billions of naira and causing untold hardship for Nigerians.”

He assured that the government was committed to resolving the crisis peacefully, adding that stability in the oil and gas industry remained crucial to Nigeria’s economic survival.