THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has placed all its affiliate unions on high alert following an escalating dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Refinery.
The conflict stems from PENGASSAN’s accusation that the refinery wrongfully dismissed more than 800 Nigerian workers.
Yesterday, union members, acting on directives from their national executive committee, barricaded the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) headquarters in Abuja as part of a nationwide industrial action.
Reacting to the development, NLC President Joe Ajaero condemned the refinery’s actions, accusing the Dangote Group of breaching Nigeria’s labour laws, constitutional rights, and international labour conventions.
He alleged that workers were fired for joining the union, describing the situation as “a deeper sickness of capitalist exploitation and union-busting.”
Ajaero maintained that the Dangote Group had operated “like a state within a state,” disregarding labour laws and international conventions while subjecting workers to what he called “plantations of exploitation.”
According to him, dialogue had failed, and the time had come for decisive action.
The NLC has now directed all unions to fully mobilise for a comprehensive campaign against the refinery’s alleged anti-labour practices.
This includes organising workers across all Dangote facilities, resisting intimidation and union suppression, and demanding respect for the constitutional right of workers to join unions.
Each affiliate union has been instructed to set up mobilisation committees and coordinate with the NLC within 72 hours.
“The impunity of the Dangote Group must be met with the resistance of organised labour,” Ajaero declared, stressing that the conglomerate was built on the “blood and sweat of Nigerian workers” and must not become a symbol of their oppression.