Fuel Crisis Looms as NUPENG, IPMAN, and PETROAN Halt Operations Over Clash With Dangote Refinery

Nigerians are bracing for another round of crippling fuel scarcity as key players in the petroleum sector — including the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) — announced a nationwide shutdown of operations starting today. The action follows a heated dispute with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery over alleged anti-labour practices and monopolistic moves that unions fear could wipe out jobs and businesses across the downstream sector.

At the centre of the standoff is NUPENG’s directive to its Petroleum Tanker Drivers to stop loading products from depots linked to Dangote Refinery. The union accuses the refinery of trying to sideline legally recognized unions by creating parallel bodies, warning that such tactics threaten workers’ rights guaranteed under Nigerian law and international conventions. NUPENG leaders, Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale, described the refinery’s approach as “a return to modern slavery” and called on the Federal Government to intervene immediately.

PETROAN has also joined the protest, announcing a three-day warning strike beginning Tuesday. The association cautioned that Dangote’s business model could push out private depot owners, modular refineries, and independent marketers, leaving the Nigerian fuel market in the hands of a single player. “This is not about competition, it is about survival,” PETROAN said, stressing that unchecked monopoly could cause widespread job losses and mirror the cement industry’s experience, where prices soared after competitors were forced out.

Similarly, IPMAN’s Western Zone has resolved to shut down over fears that its more than 4,000 petroleum trucks and drivers could become redundant under Dangote’s new distribution system. The association insists that allowing a refinery to control both production and retail distribution violates the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and poses a serious threat to investments worth billions of naira. “No member must open their stations from Monday,” said IPMAN chairman Oyewole Akanni, urging the Federal Government to enforce the law and prevent an economic catastrophe.

With the unions and marketers united in action, analysts warn that the shutdown could paralyze fuel supply nationwide, choking transport, businesses, and daily life. The Federal Government has pleaded with the unions to reconsider, but as of today, thousands of filling stations remain closed, trucks are grounded, and Nigerians are left in anxious anticipation of the next chapter in the battle between labour unions, independent marketers, and the country’s biggest refinery.

Source: The sun