The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has taken a swipe at the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), describing them as forces of retrogression and backwardness for their roles in the ongoing attempts to destabilise the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
In a statement issued in Abuja by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA said it had carefully examined all the issues raised by the unions and concluded that their agitation is ill-motivated and detrimental to Nigeria’s economic progress. The rights group recalled that these same unions were present during the years when the nation’s four refineries under the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) were systematically looted and run aground by corrupt government officials, yet they kept silent.
HURIWA observed that successive governments had spent billions of dollars in failed attempts to revamp the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, without any of them producing even a cup of fuel. According to reports from the National Assembly and global audit sources, over $25 billion has been invested in turnaround maintenance and rehabilitation of the refineries in the last two decades, yet they remain moribund. The association noted that members of PENGASSAN and NUPENG were the same staff drawing salaries from those refineries despite the non-functionality of the facilities, describing it as an act of economic sabotage that should attract lawful scrutiny and prosecution.
The Association recalled that between 2010 and 2020, successive governments expended over ₦11.35 trillion on refinery rehabilitation, operations, and staff emoluments, according to verified data from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and reports of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources. Yet, the refineries have failed to produce a single litre of fuel in years.
HURIWA noted that about ₦3.7 trillion of that amount reportedly went into paying salaries and overheads for refinery workers, even as the facilities remained idle. The group described this as “an institutionalized form of economic sabotage sustained through negligence, corruption, and complicity by unions who were supposed to be watchdogs, not enablers.”
HURIWA further stated that the enormous public funds spent on the refineries without results must be accounted for, adding that it is unacceptable that Nigerians paid workers for years while no production took place. The group argued that the unions, instead of defending corrupt inefficiencies, should be explaining their own role in the failure of the state-owned refineries and refunding salaries earned without work done.
The rights group contrasted this failure with the singular achievement of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who, through private initiative and massive investment, built one of the most sophisticated refineries in the world; a facility that has already begun exporting refined products, including to the United States. HURIWA said that for the first time in history, a Nigerian-made petroleum product is being patronized abroad, while NNPC refineries remain inactive despite heavy government spending.
HURIWA commended the Federal Government for promptly intervening to resolve the recent standoff between the unions and the management of Dangote Refinery. The association noted with satisfaction the statement by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, who described the Dangote Refinery as a “national asset.” HURIWA said the Vice President’s remarks reflect the position of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and align with the need to protect the refinery from sabotage and undue union interference.
The organisation said that while it recognizes the constitutional right of workers to freely associate, such rights must not be exercised to obstruct production or destabilize strategic national assets. HURIWA maintained that if the absence of unionization will enhance productivity and efficiency at Dangote Refinery, the workers should prioritize output and stability over union membership. It stressed that union activities must never be used as tools for blackmail or sabotage.
HURIWA advised PENGASSAN and NUPENG to respect themselves and desist from any act capable of destabilizing the only functional refinery that has brought international recognition to Nigeria. It said that if the unions continue along this path, Nigerians may begin to demand their disbandment for becoming obsolete and counterproductive to national development.
The association urged the National Assembly to consider passing a resolution declaring Dangote Refinery a national pride and to make legislative provisions for its protection as a strategic national asset. According to HURIWA, such protection does not mean government ownership, but rather recognition of the refinery’s importance as a symbol of Nigerian innovation and industrial success.
The rights group reiterated that the Dangote Refinery represents what Nigeria’s public sector has failed to achieve for decades and must be shielded from any act of sabotage or selfish agitation. It also called for a forensic audit of funds expended on Nigeria’s four moribund refineries, including salaries paid to inactive workers, to identify and prosecute those responsible for the decades of inefficiency and corruption that crippled the sector.
Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko
National Coordinator,
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA)
October 16, 2025
