The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Lagos Division, has ordered all parties involved in a leadership dispute at the Chevron branch of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to maintain peace and cooperate with the court.
Joyce Onugba-Damachi, the presiding judge, gave the directive on Friday while hearing a suit brought by seven Chevron senior staff challenging the union’s national leadership over the dissolution of the branch’s executive committees and the installation of a caretaker committee (CTC).
The suit, filed under NICN/LA/214/2025, names as claimants Sunday Ebulu, Ete Oyegbanren, Edwin Koloh, Samuel Akinfe, Fola Oyinbo, Alaba Fadola, and Jeremiah Odior.
The claimants are seeking a court ruling to clarify provisions of the PENGASSAN constitution and declare the actions of the national officers unlawful.
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The defendants include PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, its national president; Lumumba Okugbawa, the general secretary; and eight members of the Chevron branch CTC.
During the hearing, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, the claimants’ lead counsel, withdrew a pending motion for interim relief, arguing that the main case should be fast-tracked. Sola Iji, representing the union, raised no objection.
Onugba-Damachi approved the withdrawal and ordered the case file to be reassigned to another judge for an accelerated hearing, explaining that she, as a vacation judge, could not hear the substantive matter.
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UNION MEMBERS ALLEGE UNLAWFUL ACTIONS
According to the claimants’ affidavit, the Chevron branch had operated under bye-laws adopted in 2017 and approved by the national secretariat.
The conflict erupted in September 2024 when the branch executive council passed a vote of no confidence in the branch chairman and requested his removal.
The claimants allege that instead of addressing the concerns, PENGASSAN’s top officers dissolved the entire branch and chapter committees in October 2024, replacing them with an eight-member Caretaker Committee.
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They say this move violates Rule 32.4 of the union’s constitution, which restricts such committees to five members and a three-month tenure.
They also claim the caretaker committee’s tenure has been repeatedly extended without proper process, and that the branch bye-laws remain valid because no formal national executive council resolution has revoked them.
The dispute widened with the July 30, 2025, election guidelines, which, according to the claimants, reversed the traditional election order holding branch elections before chapter elections and allowed the caretaker committee to appoint delegates instead of having members vote.
Sunday Ebulu said the actions have disenfranchised over 1,200 branch members and jeopardised the association’s stability.
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He noted that the court must act as the national officers’ moves threaten the peace and progress of the Chevron branch.
Onugba-Damachi urged all parties to maintain peace and cooperate fully, stressing that the court will ensure a speedy dispute resolution.
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