There is no scarcity of gasoline even though the tanker driver’s strike, said Dangote Refinery

Dangote Refinery has convinced Nigerians that there will be no lack of fuel even though there is a sustainable strike by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (Nupeng), which represents the driver of the fuel tanker.

Industrial action, which began on Monday and since then withdrew solidarity from local and international labor organizations, originated from the accusation that the refinery conditioned the new driver who was recruited against the membership of the trade union.

In a statement on Tuesday, Dangote Group spokesman Anthony Chiejina rejected the claim as “cheap extortion” and emphasized that the distribution of fuel was still not affected. “There is no lack of fuel, everything happens,” he told, noting that the discussion was ongoing between companies, government officials, and trade unions.

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Nupeng President Williams Akporeha, however, insisted that the practice of dangote labor damaged the rights of workers. “What is shown by Dangote from time to time is that he is not ready to have workers who will have a voice in his work,” he told Arise News.

The refinery, which began operating last year with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has significantly changed the Nigerian petroleum landscape. After being very dependent on the import of fuel because for years ignoring the state-owned refineries, the country now has benefited from lower gasoline prices and an increase in domestic supply.

However, the dominance of dangote that grows in this sector has led to concerns over monopoly and market control. Last month, the company launched a plan to mobilize thousands of compressed natural gas -powered trucks for the distribution of national fuel, a step that disturbed the network of more than 20,000 diesel -powered tankers.

The strike has received support from the Nigerian Labor Congress, as well as international allies, including the Global Union Federation Industrial in Switzerland and international lawyers who helped the workers’ networks in Washington.

Apart from the dispute, the Dangote refinery reiterated that the stable operation and the availability of fuel were not threatened.