By Christian Njoku
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – Mr Richard Inoyo, a Human Rights Activist, has called on Nigerians not to vilify the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers
(NUPENG).
Inoyo, who was reacting to the recently resolved impasse between the unions and Dangote Refinery, made the call during an interview in Calabar.
The activist, who is also the Country Director of Citizens Solution Network, said Nigeria already had an alarming number of casual workers, far beyond the normal threshold.
According to him, what NUPENG and PENGASSAN are saying is, ‘if Dangote claims he is taking care of his workers, paying them well, and giving them good conditions, then why is he worried about them forming or joining a union?’
“The whole idea of unionism is simple: an injustice to one is an injustice to all; unionism ensures workers are not exploited. We have too many cases where workers are retrenched without their rightful benefits. Unionism exists to protect against such.
“Unfortunately, many Nigerians are sympathetic towards Dangote as though he was saving the country when, in actual sense, that was misleading because Dangote claims he was solving scarcity problems, but fuel still sells at over ₦900 per litre.
“Workers joining a union is their right, Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of association and Nigeria is a signatory to international labour conventions which protect workers’ rights to organise and engage in collective bargaining,” he said.
He stated that even if Dangote claimed he fired 800 workers due to “sabotage” or “safety issues,” the truth remained that workers have the constitutional right to unionise.
He asserted that any agreement or contract signed to waive this right was null and void in law, because no one can sign away his or her fundamental rights.
He added that if Dangote truly believed he was doing the right thing for his workers, then he should not fear their association with unions, nor should he dictate their religions, affiliations, or beliefs.
On the allegation that the unions were responsible for grounding the nation’s refineries, he said, “Unions are not the cause of grounded refineries; that was purely the fault of government mismanagement.
“Workers simply follow directives, expecting unions alone, with fewer than 6.5 million members, to fight for over 200 million Nigerians, is unrealistic; Nigerians themselves must join the struggle,” he maintained.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government was able to broker peace between the unions and Dangote refinery after the refinery agreed to reabsorb the 800 sacked workers, and the unions suspended their nationwide strike, which commenced on Monday, 29th September 2025.
