The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has launched a blistering attack on Senator Adams Oshiomhole, describing him as the “Judas Iscariot of trade unionism” over his recent remarks on the dispute between Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
In a statement jointly signed by NUPENG’s National President, Comrade Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Comrade Afolabi Olawale, the union accused the former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president of betraying the ideals of the labour movement he once led.
“These remarks represent a reprehensible attack on the fundamental rights of Nigerian workers and a blatant distortion of established labour laws,” the statement read. “It is disheartening that a former labour leader could morph into a staunch defender of corporate oppression.”
NUPENG said Oshiomhole’s comments were “a flagrant misrepresentation of Nigerian labour law and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions,” recalling former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s description of Oshiomhole as “a comrade in the morning and a politician by night.”
The union also accused the senator of hypocrisy, questioning his moral authority to lecture others on ethics and strategy. “How can someone who once advised allegedly corrupt politicians to join the APC for absolution now presume to preach ethics?” it asked.
NUPENG further disputed Oshiomhole’s claims about his resignation timeline from the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), asserting that he held dual positions as NLC President and NUTGTWN General Secretary from 1999 to 2007, only stepping down from the latter in 2008.
“This dual role reflects an unyielding pursuit of power, influence, and personal gain,” the statement alleged. “He has consistently rewritten history to align with his current reactionary stance in favour of capitalists.”
The union condemned Oshiomhole’s suggestion of a “moratorium on unionization,” calling it “an absurd, regressive idea with no basis in modern democracy,” and challenged him to cite any Nigerian law supporting such a notion.
Citing Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution and ILO Conventions 87 and 98, NUPENG stressed that workers’ rights to unionize and engage in collective action are constitutionally guaranteed. It maintained that PENGASSAN’s solidarity strike was a “protected legal activity,” noting that “the principle that an injury to one is an injury to all underpins global labour movements.”
The union declared Oshiomhole “persona non grata among Nigerian oil and gas workers” for his “denunciation of the PENGASSAN strike and silence over the dismissal of over 800 engineers for unionizing.”
NUPENG vowed to boycott all events featuring the senator and urged the NLC, TUC, and civil society groups to do the same.
“Oshiomhole’s insensitivity to workers’ plight and opposition to unionism in the petroleum sector mark a profound betrayal of the working class,” the statement concluded. “His stance has earned him the title of Judas Iscariot of Nigerian trade unionism. He should withdraw from labour commentary, having forfeited all moral authority among oil and gas workers.”
