Posted by Samuel on Wed 08th Oct, 2025 - tori.ng
In a statement issued on Tuesday, he argued that no company, regardless of size or influence, is above the country’s labour laws.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, has condemned the Vice President Kashim Shettima for describing Dangote Refinery as a national asset.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, he argued that no company, regardless of size or influence, is above the country’s labour laws.
He described Shettima’s statement as a national tragedy, maintaining that it could signal that wealth and political clout override legal protections for workers.
He accused the Dangote Group of infringing on workers’ rights to freedom of association, including the right to join trade unions of their choice.
Ajaero said the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria was fulfilling its mandate to protect members from exploitation and criticised attempts to portray union activity as sabotage or a threat to national interests.
According to him, “We state unequivocally to Vice President Shettima: No company, no matter how big, ‘strategic’, or well-connected, can operate outside the law or be bigger than Nigeria. If the Dangote Refinery is to be granted rights and privileges above the law, then the government must be prepared for the storms such injustice will inevitably unleash. There can be no peace without justice.”
Ajaero criticised the government for failing to protect workers, arguing that siding with powerful corporations amounted to endorsing lawlessness.
He described the situation as a declaration of class war, with the state aligning with the powerful against the vulnerable, and warned that tolerance for corporate impunity threatens the welfare and security of Nigerian citizens.