The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has ordered its members nationwide to withdraw their services in response to the alleged mass termination of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery.
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In a circular issued on Saturday, September 27, 2025, following an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, the union accused the refinery of unfair labor practices, including replacing sacked Nigerians with over 2,000 foreign workers.
The circular, signed by PENGASSAN’s General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, described the alleged actions as “an affront to Nigerian workers, a violation of Nigeria’s Constitution, labor laws, and international labor standards.”
PENGASSAN said the dismissals were a deliberate attack on workers’ rights. “No individual or company, no matter how highly placed, is above the law. The sack of Nigerians and their replacement with foreigners is disloyal to a country that has given the refinery unprecedented incentives at taxpayers’ expense,” the statement read.
To press its demands, the NEC directed:
- All PENGASSAN members in field locations to down tools from 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 28, 2025.
- A total nationwide shutdown across offices, companies, institutions, and agencies from 12:01 a.m. on Monday, September 29, 2025.
- Immediate suspension of all crude oil and gas supply to Dangote Refinery and its petrochemical operations.
- International Oil Companies (IOCs) to scale down gas production linked to the refinery.
The union also announced 24-hour prayers, calling on authorities to compel Dangote Refinery to respect Nigeria’s labor laws. PENGASSAN warned that the strike will continue until the sacked workers are reinstated, adding: “An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country.”
Dangote Refinery sources, however, dismissed the union’s claims as exaggerated, insisting that no mass sacking occurred and that the company was only undergoing an internal reorganization. Management affirmed that the majority of its workforce remains Nigerian.
Earlier, PENGASSAN had accused Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals of transferring its members, including Nigerian engineers, to other subsidiaries to weaken the union’s presence at the facility. In a petition addressed to the Lagos Zonal Chairman of PENGASSAN, Branch Chairman Abdulfatai Muhammed and Secretary Eseoghene Choice alleged that Nigerian engineers were redeployed to other Dangote business units under punitive circumstances, contravening Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees workers’ freedom of association.
The union also raised concerns over poor working conditions, including lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), exposure to hazardous environments without hazard allowance, health insurance, or compensation. PENGASSAN further claimed that Nigerian engineers are among the lowest paid in the midstream and upstream oil and gas sector, while expatriates dominate top management positions, in violation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act of 2010.
Additionally, the petition criticized Dangote Refinery’s recent decision to sell petrol exclusively in dollars, warning that the policy could weaken the naira, fuel inflation, and jeopardize Nigeria’s energy security.
“The consistent pattern of conduct reflects victimization of Nigerian workers, breach of the constitution, and policies that undermine the national interest,” the union stated. PENGASSAN called on the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), relevant government agencies, and its leadership to intervene urgently, describing the matter as one of “urgent national importance.”
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