Olushola Omogbehin
The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has accused the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers of collecting as much as N50,000 on every truck that loads fuel at the refinery, warning that such action will increase fuel pump prices and put burden on consumers.
Speaking to journalists while answering to NUPENG’s accusations that his company is preventing drivers of its newly deployed 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas-powered trucks from joining their union, Dangote said the union’s levies are unsustainable.
While NUPENG is yet to respond to this allegation, industrial experts on Sunday wondered if the oil union has become a tax collector, stressing that such actions would definitely raise the pump prices of refined petroleum products.
“I am saying that there are several charges here, where if a truck is going to load, NUPENG has been collecting about N50,000 or N48,000 on each truck. By the time everybody collects their own, you are talking about N80,000 to N84,000. So, who pays for that cost? The consumer actually pays,” Dangote explained.
Charges of this nature according to him are acts of rent-seeking that discourage efficiency in the sector. He said the company has learned from its past experiences as a fuel importer, when transporters allegedly held Dangote Group “by the neck,” compelling him to establish an in-house fleet under his brother’s management.
“Now that we have launched our own CNG trucks, we will not allow any group to hold us hostage. If there is no evacuation, there is nothing we can do,” he maintained
Dangote also stressed that no worker should be compelled to join a union because the constitution and labour laws all make union membership voluntary.
“If anybody wants to join the union, even our own workers, we say, ‘Fine, go and join.’ But it must be voluntary. Even religion is voluntary—you cannot force anyone to convert.”
The dispute comes after NUPENG shut down depots recently and shortly blockaded the Dangote refinery over disputes surrounding drivers’ unionisation. The Federal Government intervened, brokering a memorandum of understanding between the parties. However, tensions remain high despite an industrial court order in Abuja barring NUPENG from further blockades.
Among the industrial experts raised concerns about the legality of NUPENG’s alleged levies is Professor Dayo Ayoade, an energy law specialist. He questioned whether the union has overstepped its mandate.
“The job of a union is to assist its members and protect their jobs, but it doesn’t have a right to tax or collect fees for fuel loading. Is NUPENG now a tax-collecting agency? That is the question,” he argued.
He suggested that Dangote’s insistence on managing his own fleet is a way of avoiding such pressures. “If truck drivers are independent of the union, no one body can hold the entire country to ransom. Let competition reign. NUPENG should make itself attractive so drivers join voluntarily,” he said.
Analysts explained that such hidden costs, if confirmed, act as an informal tax on energy consumers which undermine the government’s broader efforts to stabilise prices and encourage the adoption of alternative fuels like CNG.
This allegations strike at the heart of Nigeria’s energy pricing structure because with pump prices already high due to foreign exchange pressures and logistics costs, any additional charges at the refinery level will further worsen affordability for households and businesses.
Trucks are part of the refinery’s strategy to cut reliance on imported diesel, reduce costs and demonstrate commitment to Nigeria’s energy transition. While stakeholders acknowledge workers’ rights to organise, they caution that coercion, excessive levies, or blockades could derail confidence in Nigeria’s refining sector at a critical time.
Experts and consumers across Nigeria urged the Federal Government to investigate the allegations, establish crystal regulatory frameworks for truck loading charges and strike a balance between protecting workers and shielding consumers from arbitrary costs.
