Pressure groups accuse PENGASSAN, NUPENG of plotting to introduce corruption into private refinery

Some pressure groups, under the aegis of the One Nigeria Movement (ONM), have accused the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) of plotting to infiltrate and corrupt the operations of Africa’s largest private refinery.

In a statement on Wednesday after emergency meetings held in Kaduna, Lagos, Enugu and Port Harcourt, the groups declared support for Dangote Refinery over the sack of more than 800 workers, accusing oil and gas unions of sabotage.

The show of unity comes as PENGASSAN’s nationwide strike, which began on September 28, crippled crude and gas supplies to the facility, sparking fears of fuel scarcity and power outages.

The dispute started on September 25 when the refinery dismissed the workers over “repeated acts of sabotage” during a reorganisation exercise to repair a key gasoline unit shut down in late August.

The unions, which had secured a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on September 9 allowing voluntary unionisation after an earlier strike threat, said the sackings were retaliation for more than 90 percent of staff joining their ranks. They also alleged that Nigerians were being replaced with over 2,000 Indian expatriates, contrary to labour laws and ILO conventions.

But Dangote Industries countered that the affected employees were far fewer, stressing that the move was necessary to safeguard operational integrity. The company insisted that over 3,000 Nigerians remain in its workforce and that union membership is a personal choice, not a condition for employment.

Talks mediated by the ministry of labour and employment stalled on Monday and are set to resume Wednesday, amid concerns about halted truck loadings and potential blackouts from thermal plant shutdowns.

In Kaduna, the Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) described the unions’ actions as a “deliberate assault on Northern economic aspirations”.

Idris Suleiman, AYF convener, said the sackings were a “defensive necessity to block infiltrators intent on reviving subsidy-era corruption in a private enterprise”.

Suleiman accused PENGASSAN and NUPENG of trying to “embed racketeers who siphoned billions from public refineries through ghost contracts”, warning that their strike threatens the refinery’s role in stabilising the naira and curbing inflation.

“The Arewa Youth Forum unequivocally supports Dangote Refinery’s layoffs to purge saboteurs, safeguarding Northern hopes for economic revival,” he said.

“We accuse PENGASSAN and NUPENG of scheming to implant corrupt syndicates into this private enterprise, echoing their subsidy thefts, and urge Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi to launch an EFCC probe into their financial dealings from 2015 to 2025 to expose illicit gains.”

In Ibadan, the Oduduwa Peace Advocates (OPA) endorsed the refinery’s actions as a “bold stand against labour-induced corruption.”

The group condemned the strike as an “attack on Yoruba entrepreneurial spirit”.

Tunde Afolabi, OPA spokesperson, said the refinery’s role in strengthening Lagos-Ibadan trade corridors is now at risk from union-driven fuel shortages that could spike transport costs by 30 percent.

He traced the dispute to sabotage linked to the August gasoline unit failure, which cost $100 million in repairs, accusing the unions of using the MoU to “plant cronies mirroring NNPCL’s $20 billion subsidy heists”.

“These unions, silent during fuel queues that crippled Yoruba traders, now feign advocacy to line their pockets,” Afolabi said, while urging Yoruba youth to rally behind Dangote as “a symbol of regional innovation”.

In Enugu, the Igbo Young Professionals Forum (IYPF) endorsed the sackings as a “preemptive strike against corruption’s spread into Nigeria’s private sector”.

At a stakeholder summit, the forum accused PENGASSAN and NUPENG of plotting to sabotage Igbo economic aspirations by disrupting fuel supplies crucial to Aba’s markets.

Chidi Okonkwo, IYPF president, said the refinery’s stability is tied to the potential creation of 100,000 jobs in the east, warning that union actions could endanger the Q4 2024 N3.42 trillion trade surplus.

“Igbo ingenuity thrives on fairness; we stand with Dangote to block saboteurs prioritising profit over progress,” Okonkwo said, calling on the federal government to intervene,” he said.

In Port Harcourt, the Niger Delta Peace and Development Assembly (NDPDA) also voiced support for the sackings at a town hall attended by oil community leaders and environmental activists.

The group described the strike as a “betrayal of the region’s resource control struggle”, warning that fuel shortages could cripple Port Harcourt’s industrial zones.