By James Buwa
DATELINE: January 8, 2026
The Concerned Petrol Station Workers have strongly opposed the recently announced plans by AA Rano to roll out Nigeria’s first fully automated and unmanned fuel stations this January.
They argued that the development could worsen unemployment and deepen insecurity if not properly thought out and regulated.
According to AA Rano, its stations would offer 24-hour self-service fuelling, contactless payments and real-time monitoring, eliminating the need for on-site attendants.
However, the Convener, Concern Petrol Station Workers and Rights Advocate, Comrade Ibrahim Zango in a statement on Thursday, January 8, 2026, lamented that a lot of young Nigerians who are keeping themselves busy in petrol stations may be exposed to other side of life.
“At a time when Nigeria is already grappling with mass unemployment, rising cost of living and growing insecurity, deploying job-eliminating technology without safeguards is dangerous.
“So imagine the number of AA Rano fuel stations alone, across the country and even beyond. Imagine the number of pump attendants working and earning their living from these stations.
“To us, sending us out of the job some us have been doing for decades without a robust plans will only multiply our crisis as a country,” he said.
To Zango, automation should not translate into job losses, calling on the government and relevant regulatory agencies to develop clear policies that balance innovation with workers’ welfare in the downstream petroleum sector.
He, therefore, urged the company’s leadership to remember its social responsibility to workers, stressing that many petrol station attendants today are where AA Rano chairman once started and should not be pushed out of livelihoods in the name of innovation.
Middle-Belt Times 