The president of the Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has accused the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) of imposing charges of up to ₦50,000 on every truck loading fuel at his refinery.
He warned that such levies ultimately increase fuel pump prices and place an additional burden on consumers.
Although NUPENG neither confirmed nor denied the allegation, industry experts on Sunday, September 21, questioned how the oil workers’ union assumed the role of a tax collector, stressing that such practices would inevitably drive up the cost of refined petroleum products.
Responding to NUPENG’s claims that his company was preventing drivers of its newly deployed 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered trucks from joining the union, Dangote insisted that the levies demanded by the union are unsustainable.
Dangote declared, “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.”
He described such charges as acts of rent-seeking that discourage efficiency in the sector.
According to him, 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 stressed.
Dangote further stressed that no driver or worker should be forced into union membership, noting that the Nigerian Constitution and labour laws make such affiliations 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,” he said.
When contacted, NUPENG president Williams Akporeha neither confirmed nor denied the allegation of ₦50,000 charges. Instead, he offered a cryptic response: “₦50k now? No more ₦1 per litre?”
This was in reference to earlier viral claims that the union had imposed a ₦1 per litre levy on fuel, a claim Akporeha previously dismissed, saying: “One can’t stop people from having their opinion. Ask who alleges to provide proof.”
The controversy follows NUPENG’s recent shutdown of depots and a brief blockade of the Dangote refinery over disputes related to drivers’ unionisation.
Although the federal government intervened and brokered a memorandum of understanding between both parties, tensions remain high despite an Abuja industrial court order restraining NUPENG from further blockades.
Dangote’s allegations strike at the heart of Nigeria’s energy pricing structure, with pump prices already high due to foreign exchange pressures and logistics costs, any additional charges at the refinery level further worsen affordability for households and businesses.
Analysts argue that such hidden costs, if confirmed, effectively act as an informal tax on energy consumers, undermining the government’s broader efforts to stabilise prices and encourage the adoption of alternative fuels like CNG.
To forestall disruptions, Dangote Group has invested heavily in 4,000 CNG powered trucks for petroleum product distribution nationwide.
This move, Dangote said, ensures independence from third-party transporters and unions that could hold operations hostage.
The 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.
