No Strikes or Lockouts Allowed in Dangote Refinery, Other Free Zones – NEPZA

By Oluwakemi Kindness

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has reaffirmed that strikes and lockouts are prohibited for ten years in Free Trade Zones, including the Dangote Refinery.

Managing Director of NEPZA, Olufemi Ogunyemi, who said this in Abuja on Thursday noted that Section 18(5) of the NEPZA Act expressly bans industrial actions in the zones, placing responsibility for resolving labour disputes solely on the Authority.

The clarification follows last week’s shutdown of oil and gas facilities by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), which accused the Dangote Refinery of sacking 800 workers over union membership.

The refinery, however, said only a few workers were dismissed for alleged sabotage as part of a reorganization exercise.

Ogunyemi in a statement on Thursday issued by the head cooperate communication Martins Odeh warned that external union interference in Free Zones was destabilizing operations, stressing that disputes must be routed through NEPZA under its “one-stop-shop” model.

He added that Free Zone law takes precedence over the Trade Unions Act and Trade Disputes Act whenever conflicts arise.

“Dangote Refinery is a declared Free Trade Zone benefiting from tax incentives and duty waivers to support the economy, and NEPZA regulates it,” he said, commending President Bola Tinubu for swiftly de-escalating the dispute.

He maintained that while workers in Free Zones retain rights to unionize and bargain collectively, the ban on strikes and lockouts is central to sustaining industrial peace needed for Nigeria’s economic growth.