Business

UPDATE: NUPENG Skips Meeting to Resolve Dispute with Dangote in Abuja

Published

1 year ago

September 8, 2025

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The leadership of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) failed to attend a crucial Federal Government meeting aimed at resolving its dispute with the Dangote Group, as tensions escalate over a planned nationwide strike by oil workers.

The meeting, called by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, was set for 10:00 a.m. on Monday at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja. However, by 2:30 p.m., the meeting had yet to start due to the absence of NUPENG representatives.

On Sunday, the Federal Government appealed to NUPENG to postpone the industrial action, assuring that it had intervened in the dispute. It also urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to withdraw its “red alert” issued to affiliate unions preparing for a solidarity strike.

An insider noted that even if NUPENG plans to attend the meeting, it won’t be immediate. “They can’t be expected to fly into Abuja and rush into talks the same day. Consultations with NLC leadership and others need to happen first,” the source explained.

The core of the conflict centers on the Dangote Group’s alleged anti-union policy, which NUPENG claims violates workers’ rights. The union insists that no oil worker will be allowed to work at Dangote without union membership, accusing the company of an “anti-worker and anti-union” stance aimed at exploiting refinery employees.

NUPENG officials were still in Lagos on Monday afternoon, coordinating the strike effort. “You don’t wait until a strike is declared before calling for talks,” one union source said, criticizing the government’s delayed response. “The union gave sufficient notice, but the ministry only acted after tensions rose.”

Meanwhile, while journalists awaited the start of the NUPENG meeting, Minister Dingyadi held a separate closed-door session with representatives of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

The government has yet to announce a new meeting date or confirm if NUPENG will participate at a later time.

Related Topics:Abuja Dangote Featured Meeting NUPENG

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Airtel Money Targets October Listing On London Stock Exchange

Airtel Money’s parent company is Airtel Africa, a telecoms provider that is part of the Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises, which is ultimately controlled by the billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal.

Published

4 hours ago

September 23, 2026

OCHEFA

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Airtel Money, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa, has concluded plans to float on the London Stock Exchange in October.

Airtel Money’s chief executive, Ian Ferrao, made the disclosure Wednesday emphasising that the company would announce more details about the float in early October, including the indicative price range and number of shares to be offered, with final pricing to follow later in the month.

Airtel Africa had originally targeted a listing in the first six months of 2026 but delayed it to the second half of the year, blaming unfavourable market conditions as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Several other companies also pushed back planned IPOs amid the market volatility caused by the conflict.

The company is hoping to raise about $800m (£601m) from the initial public offering (IPO) and is targeting a valuation of $8bn to $9bn, which would make it one of London’s largest listings in recent years.

Airtel Money has 53 million monthly active users across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Uganda, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It operates through a network of branches and kiosks, which enable customers to load money on to their phones, withdraw cash and access other money services, and the company generated revenues of just under $1.4bn in the last financial year.

Business

Cardoso Says Multiple FX Windows Cost Nigeria 3% of GDP, Higher Than Fuel Subsidy

Before the CBN introduced FX reforms in 2023 to unify exchange rates, Nigeria had different channels through which dollars could be bought and sold. Different rates applied to different users and transactions.

Published

9 hours ago

September 23, 2026

OCHEFA

13 Views

Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso has estimated that Nigeria lost about three per cent of its gross domestic product to multiple foreign exchange windows.

Mr Cardoso spoke in Abuja on Tuesday while answering questions after the 307th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee.

He put the losses from the fuel subsidy regime at about 2.2 per cent of GDP, meaning the two distortions together cost the country roughly 5.2 per cent of GDP.

The committee cut the benchmark Monetary Policy Rate to 23 per cent from 26.5 per cent, a decision the governor described as an important operational realignment aimed at strengthening monetary policy transmission.

Mr Cardoso compared the cost of the old exchange rate system to the fuel subsidy, which he said was already a staggering amount of money.

The losses that we were making as a result of these multiple exchange rate windows was more. It was 3 per cent of GDP. So between those, you had 5.2 per cent of GDP lost,” he said.