September 9, 2025
Dangote refinery on Tuesday assured Nigerians that despite the ongoing strike by a union representing fuel tanker drivers, the country would not witness petrol shortage.
The spokesperson of Dangote refinery, Anthony Chiejina, has disclosed amidst the strike, which began Monday and has since drawn support from other unions in Nigeria and abroad, as the refinery, the largest in Africa, plans to hire its own drivers to deliver gasoline to retailers across the country with compressed natural gas, CNG powered tankers
“There is no fuel shortage, everything is going on,” the spokesman, told AFP, adding that talks were continuing between the union, the government and the company”.
Critics have pointed to years of neglect and mismanagement of government-owned refineries.
READ MORE; Depots Remain Shut As NUPENG Strike Enters Day 2, Operators To Hike Petroleum Products
Before last year’s commissioning of the 650,000 barrels per day capacity Dangote refinery, Nigeria was importing almost all its petrol despite being a major oil producer.
The Dangote refinery has driven down prices of petrol for consumers while also shaking up long-entrenched players in Nigeria’s oil sector, marred by decades of corruption.
However, it has also sparked fears of monopolizing the sector as it becomes a powerful player backed by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
The refinery, last month, was set to deploy a fleet of thousands of trucks powered by compressed natural gas, an initiative that has been delayed due to logistics issues to distribute its petrol nationwide.
READ MORE;Dangote Refinery Cuts Petrol Price by N15 Across Nigeria
But the plans seem like coming to disrupt a market where more than 20,000 diesel-powered tankers have operated for decades.
NUPENG launched its strike Monday, alleging that Dangote’s new drivers were being hired on the condition they do not join the union allegations that was however disputed by Dangote.
NUPENG has seen support pour in from local organisations including the Nigeria Labour Congress as well as groups from abroad including global union IndustriALL, based in Switzerland, and the International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) network branch in Washington.
