The Minister of State for Health, Isaq Salako, has expressed concern that the looming strike declared by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) could paralyse health services nationwide, given hospitals’ heavy reliance on fuel to run generators.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, the 8th of September, 2025, Salako said: .“A strike by NUPENG will obviously affect the health sector because, as it is today, our hospitals are 65 to 80 per cent dependent on diesel and petrol generators.
So if there is a strike, it will also have an adverse effect on the health sector, and you obviously don’t want that.”
He urged restraint from all parties in the dispute, stressing that citizens’ welfare should guide their decisions.
“My comment is to appeal to both parties to allow reason to prevail; the ordinary citizen must be at the centre of the discussion. As rightly observed, any strike by NUPENG will certainly disrupt a lot of things, economic activities and social activities.
So, we don’t want a strike.
I’d just appeal that a balance needs to be reached. Dangote is playing an important role in the economy, trying to improve our domestic capacities. There is also the right to associate and unionise, but that must be balanced.”
NUPENG’s Planned Action
The oil workers’ union announced last Friday, the 5th of September, that its members would begin an indefinite strike on the 8th of September. The move is in protest against alleged attempts by the Dangote Refinery to stop its compressed natural gas (CNG) tanker drivers from joining labour unions.
Although the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) publicly distanced themselves from the planned shutdown, NUPENG insisted on Sunday, the 7th of September, that the strike would go ahead.
Government’s Intervention
In response, the Federal Government appealed to the union to reconsider. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, in a statement released by ministry spokesperson Patience Onuobia, urged NUPENG to allow dialogue.
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Dingyadi further asked the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to suspend the “red alert” it issued to affiliates, which instructed them to prepare for solidarity protests against what the unions describe as “anti-worker and anti-union practices” at Dangote Group.
“I have invited all the parties for a conciliation meeting tomorrow, Monday, September 8, 2025. Since I have intervened, I plead with NUPENG to rescind their decision to shut down the petroleum sector from tomorrow,” the minister said.
“The petroleum sector is very important to this country. It constitutes the core of the economy. A strike, even for just a day, will have an adverse impact, leading to heavy revenue losses running into billions of naira and causing untold hardship for Nigerians.”
He assured the public that the crisis would be resolved through dialogue, stressing that stability in the oil sector remained central to the nation’s economy.
Falana Backs NUPENG
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, threw his weight behind NUPENG, stating that Dangote Group’s actions breach both domestic and international labour laws.
According to him, the policy violated Section 40 of the Constitution, Section 12 of the Trade Union Act, Article 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and international treaties Nigeria has ratified, including International Labour Organisation conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining, as well as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.