The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has barred former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Adams Oshiomhole, from all its activities after his remarks criticising the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) strike.
Oshiomhole, while speaking on Arise Television last Friday, the 3rd of October, had labelled the industrial action against the Dangote Refinery as “ill-considered.” He urged unions to allow new investors, including Dangote, time to stabilise before facing industrial disputes.
“In pursuing war, you have to recognise that the tools you deploy must not hurt innocent people, like the tomato sellers who cannot get fuel to move their goods because there is a quarrel between one refinery and one union,” Oshiomhole said. “An employer has to exist, mature, and be strong enough to guarantee good-paying jobs. If you cripple a business before it even finds its feet, you are also destroying the jobs you claim to protect.”
Reacting in a statement signed by its President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Olawale Afolabi, on Monday, the 6th of October, 2025, NUPENG expressed disappointment over Oshiomhole’s comments, describing them as a betrayal of his legacy as a former labour leader.
“The leadership of NUPENG hereby declares Senator Adams Oshiomhole persona non grata within the ranks of Nigerian oil and gas workers for his undistinguished denunciation of the PENGASSAN strike against the unjustifiable sack of 800 engineers as punishment for exercising their fundamental right of unionism,” the statement read.
The union stated that Oshiomhole’s new status means he will no longer be acknowledged or welcomed at any of its events.
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“The practical effect of our declaration is that henceforth, we will not participate in or lend legitimacy to any event featuring Senator Oshiomhole,” the statement added.
NUPENG also called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and civil society groups to note what it termed Oshiomhole’s “betrayal of the working class.”
“Oshiomhole’s denunciation and insensitivity to the plight of 800 engineers is a dangerous toxin designed to weaken the resolve of the working class and strengthen the class enemy,” the union stated. “His undistinguished position on the PENGASSAN strike qualifies him as the Judas Iscariot of Nigerian trade unionism.”
The union further advised him to “retire from commenting on labour matters,” saying he has “irretrievably lost the moral right and legitimacy before Nigerian workers, particularly those in the oil and gas sector.”
The dispute began after PENGASSAN launched a strike to protest the alleged wrongful dismissal of hundreds of workers by the Dangote Refinery, a move the union suspended last Wednesday, the 1st of October.