The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has accused Dangote Petroleum Refinery of disguising an anti-union and monopolistic agenda under the cover of a planned free petrol distribution scheme.

In a statement on Friday signed by National Executive President, Comrade Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Comrade Afolabi Olawale, NUPENG alleged that the move by the refinery to deliver free fuel to selected states was a “Greek gift” designed to cripple union activities and eliminate competition in the petroleum trucking sector.

The union’s accusations came after the Dangote Group dismissed claims of anti-labour practices, monopoly tendencies, and planned fuel price hikes. The refinery insisted that allegations it barred tanker drivers from joining NUPENG were “entirely unfounded.”

Earlier in the week, NUPENG had shut down depots, protesting that the refinery had prevented newly recruited drivers of its 4,000 compressed natural gas-powered trucks from joining the union.

The issue was eventually addressed on Tuesday with the government mediating.

However, the union’s National President, Williams Akporeha, on Wednesday said Dangote violated an agreement signed at the office of the Department of State Services (DSS).

According to NUPENG, drivers were allegedly instructed to remove union stickers from their trucks and compelled to load products in defiance of established rules.

Meanwhile, Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced on Thursday night that its free petrol distribution scheme will commence on Monday, beginning in the South-West, the Federal Capital Territory, Kwara, Delta, Rivers, and Edo States. It also slashed pump prices to ₦841 per litre in Lagos and the South-West, and ₦851 in Abuja, Kwara, Edo, Rivers, and Delta.

But NUPENG, in its Friday statement titled “Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s School of Falsification Exposed,” accused the company of using the free distribution as a ploy to dominate the market and silence organised labour.

The union alleged that Dangote had been sponsoring divisions within its Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch since 2023, promoting rival groups like the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) to weaken NUPENG. It further claimed that some individuals parading as supporters of Dangote were facing criminal trials over violent attacks on union officials, including an attempt on the life of the PTD leadership that left its General Secretary in a coma.

NUPENG maintained that the Memorandum of Understanding signed on September 9 confirmed the refinery’s earlier resistance to unionisation. The union accused the refinery of replacing NUPENG stickers on trucks with those of the newly formed DTCDA, which its members resisted.

The statement also alleged that Dangote Group has consistently denied unionisation rights across its cement and sugar operations nationwide.

“Nigerians should not be deceived by the offer of free nationwide delivery of petroleum products to dispensing stations,” NUPENG warned. “It is a Greek gift meant to wipe out competition and crush our union.”

The union further cautioned that any harm to its leaders would be blamed on what it described as “desperate and destructive capitalists with filthy wealth.”