NUPENG Declares Oshiomhole ‘Judas of Nigerian Labour’, Cuts Ties Over Strike Comments

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has declared Senator Adams Oshiomhole persona non grata among Nigerian oil and gas workers, following his recent remarks criticizing the ongoing strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) against the Dangote Refinery.

In a communique jointly signed by NUPENG National President, Comrade Williams Amporeha, and General Secretary, Comrade Afolabi Olawale, the union condemned Oshiomhole’s comments as a “reprehensible assault on the fundamental rights of Nigerian workers” and a distortion of established labour laws.

The former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president had criticized PENGASSAN for escalating a dispute into a nationwide shutdown of oil facilities, calling the action hasty and unfair to other workers. Speaking in an interview with Arise Television, Oshiomhole argued that unions must pursue disputes responsibly without causing economic hardship to innocent Nigerians.

“I think that in seeking to protect a particular set of workers, you do not then risk the jobs of several other workers,” Oshiomhole said, citing examples from past labour disputes where broader economic consequences were avoided.

Reacting to the former labour leader’s remarks, NUPENG accused him of transforming into an advocate for corporate interests against the rights he once championed. The union described his stance as “nauseating” and a “flagrant misrepresentation” of Nigerian Labour Law and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.

Citing Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 9(6) of the Labour Act, NUPENG reiterated that workers have the right to freedom of association and union membership, free from victimisation. The union also referenced ILO Conventions 87 and 98, which guarantee the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining.

The communique criticized Oshiomhole’s character, recalling allegations by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that Oshiomhole was “a comrade in the morning and a politician by night,” and highlighted inconsistencies in his tenure as NLC President and General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers (NUTGTWN).

“Senator Oshiomhole’s current posture is not that of a pragmatic convert; it is the prattle of an apostate, intoxicated by the opium of power and dollarized into betraying the cause of the downtrodden Nigerian workers,” the union said.

NUPENG concluded by formally declaring Oshiomhole “JUDAS ISCARIOT of Nigerian Trade Unionism” and warned that he had lost moral legitimacy to comment on labour matters. The union pledged continued support for PENGASSAN and the over 800 workers it said were unjustly dismissed, vowing to use “every legal and industrial instrument” available to secure justice.