By Jose Oby 
Hundreds of support staff at the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) in Warri, Delta State, disrupted commercial activities on Tuesday, vowing to stage a massive rally and completely shut down the refinery on May 5, 2025.
The protesters, numbering over 300, cited years of “workplace slavery” and broken promises by WRPC management and its parent company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, as the reasons behind the demonstration.
Declaring an indefinite protest over poor working conditions, the aggrieved workers warned that they would paralyze operations at the refinery if their demands for fair compensation and improved conditions were not addressed by the set date.
The protest, which erupted on Tuesday, is the culmination of nearly a decade of unresolved grievances, including poor remuneration, lack of basic employment benefits, and the refusal to regularize long-serving casual workers as permanent staff.
“We have suffered a lot working in a hazardous plant for 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,” part of their statement read.
The protesters, many of whom have served at WRPC for over a decade without formal employment terms, accused WRPC and NNPCL of “emotional and psychological torture” and reneging on multiple promises made since 2015.
The statement, signed by protest leaders Ighomitedo Dafe, Eserada Emmanuel, Richard Okorodudu, and Mrs. Alero Agoreyo, decried the lack of progress despite past interventions by traditional rulers from the Uvwie and Warri kingdoms, the House of Representatives, and top NNPCL officials.
“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. “We need total liberation from workplace slavery!”