The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has ordered a nationwide strike in response to the dismissal of some Nigerian workers by the Dangote Refinery.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, the association’s General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, said the decision followed an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) held on Saturday.
Okugbawa described the refinery’s action as a violation of Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and international conventions.
According to him, “the refinery has replaced Nigerians with over 2,000 foreign workers, subjecting our people to the worst type of working conditions in the oil and gas industry.”
The union leader explained that NEC ordered all PENGASSAN members working across field locations to withdraw their services effective 06:00hrs on Sunday, September 28, while those in offices, companies, institutions and agencies are to withdraw services from 00:01hrs on Monday, September 29.
He further said that all processes involving gas and crude supply to Dangote Refinery had been suspended immediately.
Okugbawa also disclosed that the union had declared a 24-hour nationwide prayer.
“The prayer point should include a call to God Almighty to give courage to those in authority to rein in Dangote and his co-travelers on the need to obey the laws of our country,” he said.
He said that the union would not allow the sack of its members to go unchallenged.
“An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country,” Okugbawa said.
On Friday, the Dangote Group dismissed reports of mass staff layoffs, clarifying that the ongoing reorganisation at its Petroleum Refinery affects only a small number of employees and is aimed at safeguarding operations and preventing sabotage.
In a statement shared via the Group’s official X account, the reorganisation is a necessary measure to protect the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage that have raised safety concerns and affected operational efficiency.
Management noted that intermittent sabotage across various units has had serious consequences for human life and operational safety.
The refinery confirmed that over 3,000 Nigerians continue to work actively within the facility and emphasized that only a very small number of staff have been affected by the reorganisation.
“The Dangote Petroleum Refinery wishes to clarify recent reports concerning the ongoing reorganisation within its facility. This exercise is not arbitrary. It has become necessary to safeguard the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage that have raised safety concerns and affected operational efficiency.
“The foregoing decision was taken in the best interest of the Refinery as result of intermittent cases of sabotage in the various units of the Refinery with dire consequences on human life and related safety concerns,” the statement read in part.
“The foregoing decision was taken in the best interest of the Refinery as result of intermittent cases of sabotage in the various units of the Refinery with dire consequences on human life and related safety concerns,” the statement read in part.
It added, “Over 3,000 Nigerians continue to work actively in our Petroleum Refinery, at present. Only a very small number of staff were affected, as we continue to recruit Nigerian talent through our various graduate trainee programmes and experienced hire recruitment process.”
Before this reorganisation, there had been ongoing issues between the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the refinery. NUPENG had raised concerns over Dangote Refinery’s refusal to recognise union rights for tanker drivers and other employees.
A resolution on workers’ rights was signed in the presence of three federal ministers and the Deputy Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
However, days after the resolution, NUPENG alleged that refinery drivers were instructed to remove union stickers from their trucks and attempt to forcefully load the facility, in violation of agreed protocols.