A strike by a major oil workers’ union is threatening to disrupt fuel supplies in Nigeria as government-mediated talks dragged on into Tuesday.

The second strike in a month comes as the Dangote refinery, Africa’s largest, has shaken up the corruption-marred petrostate’s long-entrenched players — while at the same time sparking allegations it has used anti-labour tactics.

The dispute kicked off last Friday when Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) accused the refinery of firing 800 local workers for unionising and replacing them with 2,000 workers from India.

The refinery called the allegations a “complete falsehood” and said that it had fired a small number of staff over “acts of sabotage”, though it did not disclose the exact figure.

PENGASSAN called a strike and also said it would stop crude oil and gas from being delivered to the refinery — the latter of which Dangote has contested in court.

Local media reported Monday that striking PENGASSAN members also blocked the offices of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation — the state-owned oil firm — as well as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

A Dangote spokesman confirmed to AFP that government-mediated talks were ongoing as of Tuesday.
Before last year’s opening of the privately run Dangote refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, Nigeria had to import almost all its petrol despite being a major oil producer.

Critics pointed to years of neglect and mismanagement of government-owned refineries.

The Dangote refinery has driven down prices of petrol for consumers while also shaking up Nigeria’s oil sector.
It has also sparked monopoly fears as it becomes a powerful player itself, backed by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.

Its recent moves to bring its own, natural gas-powered trucks to distribute its gasoline in the country sparked a strike by a fuel tanker drivers’ union earlier in September, which accused the company of hiring new drivers on the condition they didn’t join a union.

The refinery denied the allegations.