The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the National Assembly to urgently review Nigeria’s labour laws to curtail what it described as the “excessive control” of oil unions over private sector operations, following recent disruptions at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The group made the call during a peaceful rally on Tuesday in Alausa, Lagos, expressing concern that frequent industrial actions by oil unions were eroding investor confidence and worsening the country’s economic challenges.
MURIC’s Executive Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, argued that the current labour framework grants unions undue powers capable of destabilising private enterprises.
“Dangote Refinery is a private company. No union should be allowed to control it,” Prof. Akintola said. “We appeal to the National Assembly to review labour laws. Any law that enables unions to dictate to private investors is a draconian law, particularly in the oil sector, where even minimal instability can have ripple effects on the socio-economic life of Nigerians.”
He warned that recent strikes by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had already reduced national oil output by about 600,000 barrels per day, driving up prices and deepening economic strain.
Prof. Akintola also argued that private refineries should operate independently of union interference. MURIC further demanded a full (100 percent) crude oil allocation to the Dangote Refinery and a ban on union activities within privately owned refineries.
Receiving MURIC’s petition, Mr. Stephen Ogundipe, who represents Oshodi/Isolo Constituency I in the House of Representatives, commended the group for its advocacy and pledged to convey its demands to the National Assembly.
The rally comes amid heightened tensions between oil unions and the management of the Dangote Refinery, following attempts by labour leaders to unionise workers at the facility.
