Abuja, Sept. 9 – Efforts by the Federal Government to broker peace between Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and organised labour over the Dangote Refinery’s plan for free fuel distribution ended in a deadlock on Monday after the company’s representatives reportedly walked out of the meeting.
The reconciliatory talks, convened in Abuja to avert a threatened strike by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), lasted about seven hours but produced no agreement.
Spokesman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Benson Upah, confirmed the stalemate.
“The representatives of the Dangote Refinery walked out on the minister and organised labour,” he said. Asked if any compromise was reached, Upah simply replied: “No.”
He accused the company of an uncompromising stance despite concessions from labour.
“Even when we bent backwards to accommodate his uncompromising behaviour, he still did what he had to do. So we are left with no option but to do the needful. The action continues,” Upah said, without elaborating on the next steps.
The meeting was co-chaired by Minister of Labour Muhammed Dingyadi and Minister of State for Labour Nkeiru Onyejeocha. It was attended by the national leadership of NUPENG, executives of the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Ogbugo Ukoha, as well as representatives of DIL and MRS Petroleum.
The deadlock raises fears of disruptions in fuel supply should NUPENG proceed with its strike threat.
