Dangote refinery: PENGASSAN’s strike aimed at weaponising hardship against Nigerians

The Dangote refinery says the industrial action embarked upon by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) is aimed at weaponising hardship against Nigerians. 

On Saturday, the PENGASSAN instructed its members to embark on a nationwide strike immediately over Dangote refinery’s dismissal of “over 800 workers”.

In a statement on Sunday, the refinery said the union’s directive was not intended to protect Nigerian workers.

The plant said the directive “to withdraw services and cut off essential fuel supplies, is not about protecting Nigerian workers, but it is about a cabal of oligarchs weaponising hardship against over 230 million Nigerians”.

“In the process, it (PENGASSAN) cares little if at all about the unbearable hardship and terror it would thereby inflict on all Nigerians, including but not limited to the provision of essential services in our hospitals and medical facilities, schools (nursery and right up to tertiary and research institutions), emergency services, communications facilities, transportation systems, etc,” the refinery said.

Dangote refinery therefore urged the federal government and security agencies to intervene immediately to safeguard the facility and the country’s energy security, insisting that the union should not be allowed to “bully Nigerians into chaos and economic sabotage”.

The plant further accused the union of decades-long sabotage of the country’s oil and gas sector and prioritising the interests of its leaders over those of ordinary Nigerians.

According to the refinery, the union’s directive to cut crude oil and gas supplies to its facility is “another act of economic sabotage designed to inflict untold hardship on Nigerians”.

“Indeed, over time, the Association has consistently proved itself as serving interests other than those of Nigerians and Nigerian workers,” the statement reads

Dangote refinery recalled that in 2007, when the federal government sold its moribund Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to Blue Star Consortium, led by the Dangote Group, for $750 million, “it was PENGASSAN and its ally, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), that sabotaged the deal”.

“It is now obvious to everyone that the FGN’s decision at the time was the right one and that PENGASSAN and NUPENG ignominiously wrote their names on the wrong pages of history,” the company said.

“The refinery also faulted the union’s role in the much-publicised rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, describing it as a “ruse” which PENGASSAN “knowingly celebrated despite being a scam on Nigerians.”

The statement further accused the union of “opposing amendments” to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that would have freed up federal liquidity and attracted private-sector funding into Nigeria’s upstream oil ventures.

‘PENGASSAN MISMANAGING BILLIONS OF NAIRA’

Dangote refinery accused the association of mismanaging billions of naira in annual check-off dues to fund the “lavish lifestyles” of its leaders, without accountability to members.

The refiner highlighted its record of economic contributions within a short period, citing road construction, worker training, the creation of thousands of Nigerian jobs, and a compensation structure that “outdistances the best in the Nigerian oil and gas industry”.

On Friday, the union said the refinery laid off over 800 workers, noting that the group was working to “resolve” the issue.

Subsequently, the Dangote refinery confirmed sacking some workers, saying that “only a small number were affected” in what it described as a reorganisation exercise.

Following the announcement, PENGASSAN urged the management of the refinery “to recall all terminated Nigerian workers”.