Olayiwola Matthew
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has ordered its members across the country to withdraw their services following the alleged mass sack of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery.
In a circular issued on Saturday, September 27, 2025, after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, the union accused the refinery of unfair labour practices, including replacing the sacked Nigerians with over 2,000 foreign workers.
The circular, signed by PENGASSAN’s General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, described the action as “an affront to Nigerian workers, a violation of Nigeria’s Constitution, labour laws, and international labour standards.”
PENGASSAN said the decision to sack its members for joining the union was a deliberate attack on workers’ rights. “No man or company, no matter how highly placed, is above the law. The sack of Nigerians and their replacement with foreigners is disloyal to a country that has given the refinery unprecedented incentives at taxpayers’ expense,” the statement read.
To press home its demands, the NEC directed: “All PENGASSAN members in field locations to down tools from 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 28, 2025.
“A total nationwide shutdown by all members across offices, companies, institutions, and agencies from 12:01 a.m. on Monday, September 29, 2025.
“Immediate suspension of all crude oil and gas supply to Dangote Refinery and its petrochemical operations. International Oil Companies (IOCs) to ramp down gas production linked to the refinery.”
The union also declared that members would embark on 24-hour prayers, calling on authorities to intervene and compel Dangote Refinery to respect Nigeria’s labour laws.
PENGASSAN vowed that the strike will continue until the sacked workers are reinstated, warning: “An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country.”
However, Dangote Refinery sources dismissed the union’s claims as exaggerated. The management insisted that no mass sack had taken place, explaining that the company was only undergoing an internal reorganization to enhance efficiency. The refinery maintained that the majority of its workforce remained Nigerian, contrary to PENGASSAN’s allegations.
PENGASSAN had also earlier accused the management of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals of transferring its members, including Nigerian engineers, to other subsidiaries in an attempt to weaken its presence at the facility.
©Vanguard