Dangote refinery: NLC tackles Shettima, says VP’s position is national tragedy

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comment describing the Dangote Group as a “national asset,” saying the remark implies that the conglomerate is above Nigeria’s labour laws.

In a strongly worded statement signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, to mark the World Day for Decent Work on October 7, 2025, the NLC described Shettima’s position as a “national tragedy” and a “public declaration that capital, when sufficiently concentrated, is above the law.”

The labour movement said the Vice President’s statement was “deeply troubling” and “an affront to the rule of law,” accusing the federal government of promoting impunity and lawlessness by defending employers who violate workers’ rights.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this deeply troubling statement by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, that the Dangote Group is a ‘national asset’ and insinuating therefore that it should be exempt from obeying the nation’s labour laws,” the statement read.

“This is a public declaration that money is sovereign and can undermine Decent Work principles.”

The NLC accused the Dangote Group of violating workers’ rights to freedom of association and unionisation, alleging that the company had “brazenly suppressed” union activities at the Dangote Refinery and other subsidiaries.

It said the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) was only fulfilling its duty to protect workers from exploitation, warning that labelling such actions as sabotage reflected a “fascistic tendency” that would be “resisted with every fibre of our being.”

Ajaero declared that Dangote’s practices were contrary to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Decent Work Agenda, which promotes job creation, social protection, rights at work, and social dialogue.

He said the ongoing “systemic denial” of decent work principles was undermining Nigeria’s quest for industrialisation, national development, and social justice.

The NLC also alleged that contractors at the NLNG Train 7 project in Bonny, Rivers State, had recently dismissed thousands of Nigerian workers and replaced them with foreign labour, calling it another example of “lawlessness encouraged by government inaction.”

“By encouraging this lawlessness, the government is promoting a disdain for our nation’s institutions and emboldening the forces of impunity that have held our nation captive,” the statement said.

The NLC warned that no company—regardless of its size, connections, or perceived national importance—should operate above the law.

“If the Dangote Refinery is to be granted rights and privileges over and above the law, then the government must be prepared for the storms that such an injustice will inevitably unleash. There can be no peace without justice,” Ajaero stated.

The labour union demanded that the federal government enforce compliance with Nigeria’s labour laws across all sectors, end the “sacred cow syndrome,” and strengthen institutions responsible for industrial relations oversight.

Ajaero concluded with a call to action: “We will not surrender the rights of Nigerian workers on the altar of profit. We will mobilize, we will organize, and we will fight back.

“We insist that there are no sacred cows.”