The industrial dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) escalated on Saturday, as the union directed its branches to halt all crude oil and gas supplies to the $20bn refinery.
In a letter dated September 26 and signed by General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN accused the refinery of unlawfully dismissing some of its members for exercising their constitutional right to unionise.
The union described the dismissals as anti-labour and vowed to take firm action. Its directive was sent to branch chairmen in major upstream and midstream companies, including TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Oando, Shell Nigeria Gas, Renaissance, and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), instructing them to immediately shut crude oil supply valves and halt gas deliveries to the facility.
PENGASSAN alleged that the refinery management also withdrew staff buses, denied entry to local workers, and allowed expatriates unfettered access. It threatened to picket the refinery if its demands were not met.
Dangote Refinery, however, denied the claim of mass layoffs. In a statement on Friday, it said only a small number of workers were affected by a “necessary reorganisation” aimed at addressing recurring acts of sabotage that threatened lives and operations. The company stressed that over 3,000 Nigerians remain employed at the facility.
Rejecting this explanation, PENGASSAN accused Dangote of “propaganda” and insisted that management engage in meaningful dialogue rather than spreading misinformation.
“All crude oil supply valves to the refinery should be shut. Loading operations for vessels heading to the refinery must be halted immediately,” the union’s directive stated, reiterating its slogan: “Injury to one, injury to all.”
This latest directive comes just days after Dangote announced it would suspend petrol sales in naira from September 28 following the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocations.
