By Emeka Okafor
Hundreds of support staff of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) at Ekpan in Uvwie, Delta State, on Tuesday, disrupted commercial activities with a vow to stage mother of all rally as well as the total shutdown of the refinery on May 5, 2025.
The protesters, numbering over 300, blamed the protest on years of “workplace slavery” and failed promises by management of WRPC and its parent company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
While declaring an indefinite protest over their poor working condition, the aggrieved workers threatened to shut down the entire facility come Monday, May 5, 2025, if their demands for fair compensation and better working conditions are not met.
The protest, which began on Tuesday, follows nearly a decade of unresolved agitation over poor remuneration, lack of basic employment benefits, and the refusal to convert long-serving casual workers into permanent staff.
They claimed that most of the protesting employees have worked at WRPC for over ten years without enjoying standard employment terms.
In a statement signed by Ighomitedo Dafe, leader of the protesters, Eserada Emmanuel, Richard Okorodudu, and Mrs. Alero Agoreyo, the staff accused WRPC and NNPCL of “emotional and psychological torture,” and failing to honour multiple pledges made since 2015.
“We have suffered a lot working in a hazardous plant with a meager monthly stipend of ₦90,000 to ₦165,000. We want to earn a living, not merely survive. We will no longer tolerate being used and discarded”, the statement partly read.
Despite several protests over the years and mediation efforts by traditional rulers of Uvwie and Warri kingdoms, the House of Representatives, and high-ranking NNPCL officials, the workers say nothing has changed.
“We hereby notify all stakeholders of WRPC that there will be a protest and total shutdown on Monday, 5th May, 2025, until our demands are met,” the statement declared, stressing that, “We need total liberation from workplace slavery!”
In a letter addressed to stakeholders of the WRPC, they said the interventions by the traditional rulers of Uvwie and Warri kingdoms, as well as the House of Representatives in 2019/2020 changed nothing, “rather, support staff in their large numbers were dropped and paid-off prior to the Covid-19 saga. The remaining support staff that were not laid-off were made to continue to receive peanuts called ‘salary’.
“The Support Staff then felt since Conversion to Permanent Staff seems difficult for management to handle, improved Salary Structure/Condition of Service should be reasonably done by WRPC Management.
“The Support Staff then embarked on a protest on Thursday 28th April, 2022, for which the then GED R & P came on Thursday, 19th May, 2022 to address the aggrieved Support Staff. However, due to the upcoming transition of NNPC to limited, the GED R & P could not resolve the issue. Thus, the protest continued until the Host Communities’ leaders waded in and finally brought it to an end on Tuesday 31st May, 2022.
“It was on the understanding that our prayers will be attended to if we allow Daewoo Engineering and Construction Nigeria Limited (DECN) come in for the Plant’s Quick-Fix.
“However, we did not relent in engaging the Management periodically on our one and all inclusive demand, which is ‘Improved Salary Structure/Condition of Service’. On responding to one of our letters to Management dated 13th January, 2023, the then Managing Director of WRPC, Engr. Jimoh Olasunkanmi, reaffirmed that our demand -Improved Salary Structure/Condition of Service, will be treated as requirement for Plant startup.
“Suddenly, there was a shakeup in NNPCL, where Engr. Jimoh Olasunkanmi, was made to go on compulsory retirement. Due to the harsh economic realities and the extension of the Quick-Fix project, the Support Staff of WRPC staged a two days protest in November 2023 that resulted in the intervention of the then EVP Downstream, Adedapo A. Segun, to increase the salaries from (₦60,000 – ₦110,000) to (₦90,000 – ₦165,000) in December, 2023.
“When we realized that the increment cut across the three refineries (Kaduna. Port-Harcourt, & Warri), a letter of appreciation was sent to him (then EVP) on 3rd February, 2024, with a request for him to endorse the full Improved Salary Structure/Condition of Service sent to him by the local managements.
“As our frustration continued with no good news from management, we then held a mourning protest that lasted from 13 May 2024 to 31 May 2024.
“As committed workers whose desire is to see that the nation’s refineries under His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, bounce back to full streaming capacity, we then suspended the protest for five weeks to give room for management to meet our request. Disappointingly, management did not come out with any improved Salary package or conditions of service!
“We then resolved to go on a full blown protest on the 19th August, 2024, which was later suspended on the 18th August, 2024, due to the mediation of the Contractors Representative (Chief Francis Ighoraye JP), SID Boss, OC DSS WRPC, and Artillery Commander; that our demands will be met immediately after the plant come on stream.
“Now the plant has come on stream since 28th Dec, 2024 and we are asked again to wait for another three months (March 2025) before the implementation of Improved Salary Structure and Condition of Service.
“The information to wait for another three months, met the Support Staff of WRPC on Monday 13th January, 2025 with bitterness and a demoralizing effect. It then triggered uproar and feelings of betrayal on the part of WRPC/NNPCL Management,” the statement read.
