The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has criticised Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), over his comments on a recent industrial dispute involving Dangote Refinery.
The controversy stems from Oshiomhole’s appearance on Arise TV last Friday, where he criticised the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) for their nationwide strike against Dangote Refinery. The senator described the action as “hasty” and said it unfairly affected other workers and the economy.
But NUPENG, in a statement signed by its President Williams Akporeha and General Secretary Afolabi Olawale, described Oshiomhole’s remarks as a “betrayal of labour principles” and a “distortion of established laws.”
The union said PENGASSAN’s strike was legally protected under Section 31 of the Trade Unions Act and represented a legitimate solidarity action for workers affected by mass dismissals at the refinery. NUPENG added that Oshiomhole’s comments misrepresented both Nigerian labour law and international labour standards.
“We witness with utter disappointment a former labour leader now advocating for corporate oppression, campaigning against the very rights he once championed,” the union said. “The principle that ‘an injury to one is an injury to all’ is the foundational ethic of trade unionism globally.”
Dangote Refinery had earlier thanked President Bola Tinubu and other government officials for their intervention, which led to the suspension of the strike. The refinery described itself as Nigeria’s largest private employer and a major contributor to tax revenues.
The strike, which lasted two days, was triggered by the mass sacking of Nigerian workers but ended after a truce was reached between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery following federal government mediation.