The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that it is prepared to mobilize workers across the country against the Dangote Group over what it described as exploitative and anti-worker practices.
In a statement signed by its president, Comrade Joe Ajaero, on Saturday, the NLC said it was standing in solidarity with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), which had earlier raised alarm over alleged union-busting and unfair treatment of workers at Dangote companies, particularly the refinery.
The Congress accused the conglomerate of thriving on casualisation, poor wages, and unsafe working conditions policies it said were in clear violation of Nigeria’s labour laws and the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Decent Work agenda.
It alleged that instead of creating decent jobs as promised, the Dangote Group had “chosen the path of exploitation and monopolistic control.”
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According to the statement, the company has also denied employees their constitutional right to freedom of association by preventing them from joining trade unions of their choice and forcing them into “company unions” designed to weaken collective bargaining.
The NLC stressed that this practice “directly violates Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, the Labour Act, and ILO Conventions 98 and 87 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise and Collectively Bargain.”
The NLC further criticised the conglomerate for preferring foreign workers to qualified Nigerians, citing past cases where welders and fitters were brought in from Asia while trained local professionals were left unemployed.
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On pricing, the labour body alleged that Dangote’s monopoly has worsened the hardship faced by Nigerians. “Instead of lowering costs for the people, the company exploits scarcity and market control to raise prices, deepening poverty,” the statement read.
Declaring a nationwide “Red Alert,” the NLC vowed to mobilise its state councils and affiliate unions for mass resistance if the Dangote Group fails to address the issues raised.
It also warned regulatory authorities, especially the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Authority, that “history will hold them complicit” if they continue to ignore alleged violations while “a few individuals privatize the nation’s energy future.”
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The Congress further urged the Federal Government to compel the conglomerate to comply with labour laws and international conventions.
Finally, the NLC urged Nigerians to “see through the deception,” describing Dangote’s model as “plunder, not philanthropy” and “dispossession and enslavement” rather than genuine development.
Comrade Ajaero closed the statement with a vow of unyielding resistance, declaring that organised labour will not allow the working class to be sacrificed for corporate greed.
“Our solidarity is unshakable, and we will fight because justice demands it,” he affirmed.
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