The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has announced a nationwide strike in response to the termination of Nigerian workers by the Dangote Refinery.
In a statement released on Sunday in Abuja, PENGASSAN General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa revealed that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) on Saturday.
Okugbawa condemned the refinery’s actions as a breach of Nigerian 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 NEC directed all PENGASSAN members at field locations to cease work starting at 06:00 hrs on Sunday, September 28, while those in offices, companies, institutions, and agencies were instructed to withdraw services from 00:01 hrs on Monday, September 29. Additionally, the union has halted all gas and crude oil supplies to the refinery effective immediately.
Okugbawa also announced a 24-hour nationwide prayer initiative.
“The prayer point should include a call to God Almighty to give courage to those in authority to rein in Dangote and his co-travellers on the need to obey the laws of our country,” he said.
He vowed that the union would not tolerate the dismissal of its members without a fight.
“An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country,” Okugbawa said.
In response, the Dangote Group refuted claims of widespread layoffs on Friday, stating via its official X account that the ongoing reorganization affects only a small fraction of employees and is aimed at protecting operations and preventing sabotage. The refinery highlighted that repeated acts of sabotage across various units have raised significant safety and operational concerns.
“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 a 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 refinery clarified that over 3,000 Nigerians remain employed at the facility, with only a small number affected by the reorganization. It also emphasized ongoing recruitment through graduate trainee programs and experienced hire processes.
Tensions between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) predate the reorganization. NUPENG had previously criticized the refinery for denying union rights to 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, NUPENG alleged that shortly after, refinery drivers were ordered to remove union stickers from their trucks and faced attempts to load the facility, violating the agreed-upon protocols forcibly.
