Labour Crisis Looms as NLC Condemns Dangote Refinery’s Recruitment of 89 Labourers from Katsina

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has raised an alarm over the recruitment of 89 unskilled labourers from Katsina State to the Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, threatening to shut down operations if the issue is not resolved.

The Lagos State chapter of the NLC described the recruitment as a breach of labour laws and a security risk to the host community.

The youths’ arrival was captured in a viral video showing them disembarking from a truck near the refinery. Comrade Funmi Sessi, NLC Lagos Chairperson, told reporters, “The rule of engagement and labour rules have stated clearly that 70 per cent of those in the locality should be given the opportunity, while 30 per cent can be given to those who have skills. Which kind of skills will they tell us that these people have that the young people who are unemployed in the locality don’t have?”

She criticized Dangote’s practice of recruiting expatriates and workers from other regions, stating, “Dangote is fond of bringing in Indians and other expatriates as technicians. He prefers to bring foreigners who don’t even have the knowledge of our own local people. This is unacceptable to us.”

Sessi called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Federal Ministry of Labour to compel Dangote to return the 89 youths to their original locations, warning that failure to do so would prompt national NLC intervention. “Those guys should be taken back to Dangote’s companies in the northern part, not in Lagos State,” she said.

The Dangote Refinery responded that the labourers were brought in by a vendor without the company’s direct knowledge and that an investigation is ongoing.