THE LAGOS State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has urged Dangote Industries Ltd. to let its employees join workers’ unions to ensure protection of their rights.
The chairperson of the council, Comrade (Mrs) Funmi Sesi, made the appeal during a tour of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Dangote Fertiliser Plant by members of Labour Writers Association of Nigeria and officials of NLC on Tuesday.
Comrade Sesi said that unionisation would help in organising workers and addressing their concerns, adding that it would help their employers to improve operations.
“On behalf of NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, we want to say: Dangote, please give us a chance to unionise your workers,” Sesi said as she also urged the company to employ more indigenes of its host communities.
The labour leader said that labour law stipulated that 70 per cent of workforce should be from an organisation’s catchment area, and 30 per cent could be expatriates.
Responding, Mr Devakumar Edwin, the Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Ltd., said that the company was committed to training and employing members of its host communities. He said that the company had a well-established training centre at Obajana in Kogi.
Mr Edwin added that the company planned to establish another training centre in Lagos State, stressing that the Dangote Group had become a nurturing ground for Nigerian engineers, scientists and technicians, many of whom had gone on to work as expatriates in various countries.
Edwin assured the labour leader of the company’s commitment to human capital development, staff welfare and overall wellbeing of the economy.
“We have to ensure that the host communities are happy; otherwise, we will not be able to work. If someone is interested in his business, his first focus will be to ensure that the host communities are happy,” he said.
According to him, the company employed 22 per cent of its workforce from its host communities, 50 per cent from the state, and the rest from other parts.
Sell Crude In Naira To Reduce Fuel Prices – NLC
The NLC, during the visit, also made a direct appeal to the Federal Government to prioritise the sale of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery in naira.
Arguing that forcing Dangote Refinery to import crude oil or purchase locally in dollars undermines the promise of lower fuel prices for ordinary Nigerians, the NLC said Nigeria has crude oil in abundance and therefore forcing the company to import crude or pay in hard currency is counterproductive.
“This country has crude oil in abundance. So why is Dangote still being made to import crude or pay for it in hard currency?” the NLC queried. “If the government is truly committed to reducing fuel prices and supporting local refining, it must sell crude oil to Dangote in naira.”
According to NLC, sourcing crude locally in local currency would significantly lower operational costs and, by extension, lead to a more sustainable reduction in fuel prices.
“With a daily capacity of 650,000 barrels, this refinery can serve Nigeria and even the West African sub-region. We also seen big ships taking fertilisers to other countries. The government must maximise,” Comrade Sesi said, as she lauded Alhaji Aliko Dangote for achieving a fully functional, world-class refinery capable of meeting both domestic and regional demands for refined petroleum products.
“When government-owned refineries failed, one man stepped up. Aliko Dangote didn’t just make promises; he fulfilled them. He has proven that Nigeria can not only refine its own products but also meet international quality standards,” she added.
