The Minister of State for Health, Ishaq Salako, has raised alarm over the potential impact of the planned nationwide strike by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), warning that hospitals across the country could be thrown into crisis due to their dependence on fuel-powered generators.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, Salako stressed that most health facilities in Nigeria remain heavily reliant on diesel and petrol to power critical equipment.
The minister appealed to all parties in the labour dispute to show restraint in the interest of the public.
He said: “A strike by NUPENG will obviously affect the health sector because, as it is today, our hospitals are 65 to 80 per cent dependent on diesel and petrol generators.
“So if there is a strike, it will also have an adverse effect on the health sector, and you obviously don’t want that,” he warned.
“My comment is to appeal to both parties to allow reason to prevail; the ordinary citizen must be at the centre of the discussion.
“As rightly observed, any strike by NUPENG will certainly disrupt a lot of things—economic activities and social activities. So, we don’t want a strike.
“I’d just appeal that a balance needs to be reached. Dangote is playing an important role in the economy, trying to improve our domestic capacities. There is also the right to associate and unionise, but that must be balanced.”
Background To The Dispute
Naija News reports that NUPENG had on Friday declared its members would withdraw services from September 8, 2025, in protest against alleged moves by the Dangote Refinery to stop its newly recruited Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tanker drivers from joining labour unions.
Although both the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Direct Trucking Company Drivers Association (DTCDA) dissociated themselves from the action, NUPENG reaffirmed on Sunday that the strike would proceed.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has intensified efforts to avert the shutdown. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, in a statement by the ministry’s Head of Information, Patience Onuobia, appealed to NUPENG to reconsider.
“I have invited all the parties for a conciliation meeting tomorrow, Monday, September 8, 2025. Since I have intervened, I plead with NUPENG to rescind their decision to shut down the petroleum sector from tomorrow,” Dingyadi said.
He also called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to withdraw the “red alert” it had issued to affiliate unions, directing them to prepare for solidarity action against what it described as “anti-worker and anti-union practices” by the Dangote Group.
Dingyadi stressed that stability in the petroleum sector was vital to the nation’s economic survival.
“The petroleum sector is very important to this country. It constitutes the core of the economy. A strike, even for just a day, will have an adverse impact, leading to heavy revenue losses running into billions of naira and causing untold hardship for Nigerians,” the minister cautioned.
He assured Nigerians that the matter would be resolved amicably, adding that the government remained committed to ensuring fairness, workers’ rights, and uninterrupted energy supply.
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