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Tag: Dangote refinery

  • ACF condemns alleged sabotage of Dangote Refinery, warns of economic risks

    ACF condemns alleged sabotage of Dangote Refinery, warns of economic risks

    The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), a leading voice of Northern Nigeria, has condemned what it described as a “thinly disguised attempt to sabotage” the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Company, cautioning that such actions pose a threat to Nigeria’s economic stability and investor confidence.

    In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the forum expressed concern over the persistent challenges facing the refinery since its inception, including regulatory hurdles, crude oil supply constraints, pricing disputes, and labor unrest.

    ACF lamented that despite the dedication of the refinery’s founder, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, powerful vested interests continue to undermine the facility in a bid to retain control over Nigeria’s oil sector. 

    “The challenges confronting the refinery bear the imprint of entrenched cabals bent on sustaining their asphyxiating grip on the oil industry and the national economy,” the statement said, describing the refinery as Nigeria’s “largest and most modern indigenous crude oil processing facility.”

    The forum specifically criticized the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) for allegedly defying a court order restraining it from disrupting refinery operations. 

    “No law-abiding organisation should disregard a valid court order,” the ACF added.

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    While affirming workers’ rights to unionize, ACF stressed that such rights must be exercised responsibly and supported calls from Senators Adams Oshiomhole and Ali Ndume that the refinery should stabilise before any unionisation activities commence.

    “Workers should focus on helping the refinery become fully operational before introducing union activities,” the forum stated, adding that the facility should be treated as a strategic national asset deserving of protection from sabotage.

    The ACF also warned that any attempt to cripple the refinery would send a negative message to both domestic and international investors. It urged the Federal Government to classify the Dangote Refinery as a strategic national security asset, and take measures to shield it from external and internal threats.

    The forum expressed support for ongoing Federal Government-led negotiations with labour unions, but insisted that sanctions must be imposed on any group that violates lawful directives or acts in a manner that endangers national interests.

    “Putting down the Dangote Refinery is a potent disincentive to private investment and a blow to Nigeria’s industrial future,” ACF warned, urging labour unions to act with patriotism and resist what it called “international machinations aimed at sabotaging indigenous industrial development.”

  • Still in search of an authentic national consensus

    Still in search of an authentic national consensus

    The actuality has turned out to be more dire than the auguries. The sixty fifth anniversary of Nigeria has now come and gone. As it has been predicted, the national mood was sombre and subdued. As the day approached, the discerning could feel a thick pall of despondency in the air and an atmosphere of generalized desperation. It was as if the dispensing machines had run out of vending hope and optimism after a run on them. This is the staple fare of pain-killing morphine on which an embattled and embittered populace had depended on in sixty five years of trial and tribulation. But addiction to pain-killers, like the pain-killers themselves, often have their expiry date and time.

    Given the general state of perturbation and widespread anxiety in the land, one was not unduly surprised when the announcement came cancelling the Independence Day parade, thus stripping the occasion of its pomp and pageantry. Whenever you have this kind of unusual announcement, the airwaves are rife with rumours and unsettling speculations that something nasty was in the offing. In the event, rather than glad-handing and iron-pumping in Abuja, the president chose to remain in his Lagos residence from where he rallied the nation in an Independence speech of rousing bravery and exceptional tough-mindedness. But if the truth must be told, it was of little avail, for it was at this particular point that the PENGASSAN versus Dangote Refinery faceoff snowballed into a full-blown downing of tools by the oil-sector workers. As long queues resurfaced at the petrol station and as commuters and motorists alike began hunting for the rare stuff like primitive hunter-gatherers, the downbeat mood became even more sullied and unappeasable.

       Cashing in on the unfortunate situation, some of the leaders who have led the nation up this ruinous path began calling for drastic reform or revolution. The veteran roadrunner among them, without any sense of momentous irony, insisted that the time had come to smash the moribund system. Why he thinks he himself and his vast retinue will escape the fury of the revolutionary mob in the event of an upheaval remains a source of profound mystery. Even more worrisome is the possibility that the nation is being set up for a catastrophic descent into anarchy as a prelude or dress rehearsal for the voting year of 2027 and all its magical possibilities.

       But why the year 2025 in its ember phase and the occasion of its sixty fifth anniversary should cast such an ominous pall of magical possibilities on the nation deserve more scrutiny. It may well be that just as humans suffer anxiety neurosis so do nations. In the modern bureaucratic calendar that we have adopted, the age of sixty five is the ultimate and terminal retirement age, the sharp cut-off point of all elongated shenanigans, extensions, multiple additions and covert adjustments. The retiree must go into compulsory retirement to embrace the dark shadows of old age, senescence or senility as the case may be, if they are not recalled by their maker. This is the age in which the patients worry themselves to death about missed deadlines, missed opportunities, vanished timelines and datelines.

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       There is a time for everything. You cannot be fretting about interview schedules or frantic about fresh job opportunities when you are already at the departure lounge waiting for the final call. The dominance of oral culture in Africa allows us to take a bitter jig at our colonially imposed modern calendar with its mechanical and mechanistic framework which does not allow or permit creative laxity or imaginative evasions. Due to lack of public records, it is only in Africa that the same person could hold on to multiple birthdates on the ground that he was born several moons ago on a market day with birds singing and goats bleating furiously, or where a centenarian can often pass as a sprightly septuagenarian. But that too must end at some point, like the Egungun Festival which must terminate at some point no matter the associated merriments and festivities. Time is the ultimate leveler which must bring together all the contending classes including children of loafers and the scions of loaf-masters.

        History is the master of allegory or allegorized reality. History, in its actual lived experience and confounding perplexities, often simplifies reality for us and resolves its own conundrums as it unfolds and expands thrusting its heady contradictions at us as we struggle to make sense of its awesome imponderables. Only last week in this column, we narrated how this columnist was invited in 1985 by the duo of Dele Giwa and Ray Ekpu to contribute to a publication to commemorate the twenty fifth anniversary of the nation. As it was explained last Sunday, the columnist latched on to the image of a master paradox to explain away the strange combination of magnificent strengths and gargantuan weaknesses which seem to have defined the existence of the nation since amalgamation. For many people the idea of a roiling paradox has since entered the national imagination as a general password for unlocking the Nigerian predicament.

        Ten years after this landmark publication, Dele Giwa has been bombed out of existence about a year after on October 19th 1986. But in a strange twist of grueling irony, it was the turn of Kayode Soyinka, Dele Giwa’s golden boy and favourite newshound, to invite this columnist to ruminate on the circumstances of Nigeria on its thirty fifth anniversary commemoration. In the intervening decade, Soyinka, who only miraculously escaped being brutally dispatched like his boss, had transited from being an intrepid reporter to becoming the publisher of the respectable and influential magazine, Africa Today. That October, the nation’s reputation was in tatters having plumbed the depth of disrepute to become a pariah in the comity of nations. General Sani Abacha had bared his steely fangs and the entire nation lay cowering under the hammer of his brutal despotism. The mood of the nation darkened and there was a foul distemper about reminiscent of the goggled tyrant himself. Nobody ever believed that politically speaking, things could turn that foul and nasty.

       This time around, this writer fastened on the image of a giant toddler at thirty five trundling about the bare floor unable to get up and go. A toddler at thirty five is a genetic monstrosity; a victim of irreversible retardation and arrested development. It recalls the figure of, Aboliga, the man-child ,Ayi Kwei Armah’s haunting creation in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born.  The one-day wonder grew to manhood and full maturity the same day he was born only to perish that same day. Nothing grows or endures for long in the sultry tropics, certainly not people, nations and institutions,  and the equatorial torpor has claimed its own once again.

    That was thirty years ago after a presidential election that promised to unite and unify the nation produced a hapless civilian interloper and the most monstrous despot ever seen in the history of the nation. The caustic severity of the framing referent of an earth-hugging adolescent toddler was an accurate reflection of the national trauma as Nigeria cascaded over the cliff to the bottomless pit of self-eradication once again. If any substantial damage has been done to the national fabric, the nation has had the intervening three decades to heal and to repair the damage. First was the heroic struggle against military absolutism which has since entered the universal folklore of the struggle of a people for self-emancipation. The upheaval against military eruption which sent the soldiers back to the barracks can be regarded as the golden moment of Nigeria’s post-independence history.

       Unfortunately, and by universal consensus, the post-military civilian restoration has, in the main, been underwhelming in its performance, particularly in the areas of the economy, national cohesion and the scourge of corruption and mismanagement. To be sure, there have been a few bright spots at both the national and subnational levels such as the brilliant demilitarization programme of the Obasanjo regime  and the sterling performance at the state levels particularly in Lagos and in emerging stars such as Ekiti, Enugu, Abia and perhaps entrepreneurially driven Akwa Ibo. But all these are too few and far between to make a dent on the fortunes of the nation.

       So what is the verdict on Nigeria at sixty five as the nation marked a gloomy anniversary this past week? The answers came in torrents and they could not be gloomier than the mood of the nation itself. This time around and in a startling development which hints at a global revolution in the knowledge industry and a change in demographic reflecting the growing predominance of youth in the power equation, it was Nigerians themselves who supplied the answers. This time around, Nigerians did not need “specialists” to explain away the antics of “madmen”; neither do they need their celebrated intellectuals and writers to explain the plight of the nation. They dismissed the nation as akin to a sixty five year old retiree without any further hope of redemption or restitution; a nation with a great future firmly behind it.

        Fortunately, the timeline of a nation’s existence is completely different from the lifespan of a human organism. Unlike human life, the nation is an infinite continuum with an oceanic plenitude of time. Nation’s do not succumb to sudden death or peremptory cardiac seizure. Even where breakup is a definite possibility, the warning signals are almost elastic in their sheer permissiveness. This is why Nigeria still has a lot to play for. It is not over until it is over. But a lot still needs to be done to halt the drift to Golgotha. This is a great country. But like all violently heterogeneous entities it is taking quite some time to come together and the human toll, the collateral damages, have been quite prohibitive. The coming decade will be quite critical in our quest for that elusive and authentic national consensus.

  • Baba Lekki takes Independence Day yabis to new heights

    Baba Lekki takes Independence Day yabis to new heights

    To the modish and moodily confrontational Gbedegbeyo Television Station, an equal opportunity bastion of ethnic irredentism on the outskirts of the Ajisegiri Canal, as the aging but irrepressible contrarian, Lambert Alekuso, aka Baba Lekki, fielded questions on the state of the nation on the occasion of the sixty fifth independence anniversary. Like most die-hard Yoruba progressives of the old school, a pattern of wary engagement with the ruling party has emerged since the coming to power of the greatest political disruptor of the age: strategic silence when everything is going well and the government appears to be on top of its brief and intense commotion coupled with rearguard revanchist rhetoric about the need to revisit the amalgamation of the country when the nation is on edge. Baba Lekki seems to have mastered this double-edged brief beyond the call of normal duty.

    This morning, the mournful drizzle that commenced around midnight had resumed duty after a brief respite as vast pools of murky water gathered on the sidewalks with angry commuters cursing careless motorists as they drove through the rivulets splashing and splattering everything in sight with foul effluents. As a result of the faceoff between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery, the few stations still dispensing fuel were besieged by irate citizens screaming to get on the rowdy queues and off-duty miscreants heaving heavy-duty jerry cans. Public distemper was palpable and the atmosphere was pregnant with foul foreboding and imminent combustion.

      Inside the hall, Baba Lekki sat on a lone chair rocking precariously from side to side and eyeing everybody in the hall with sullen contempt. He was approached by one of the female hostesses to find out if he needed some water to cool down and he snarled at the lady with such severity that the poor soul back-heeled quickly to the control room. He was obviously still smarting from the hostile reception he got at the security gate earlier. The rickety jalopy bringing him was flagged to a full stop by security people including a most impertinent woman. He was asked to alight and submit himself to a security search. After a thorough frisking, he was asked to remove a massive amulet dangling ominously from his breast pocket. The old man declined on the ground that it was an item of dressing.

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    “If you are not a fool, will you ask Basorun Ogunmola to remove his isura or insurance?”the old man screamed at them. When the security people insisted, the he offered to go in naked whereupon he started removing his trousers. The lady fled just as their supervisor who had been monitoring from a control room jumped out.

      “Let baba go, just let him go, we don’t want any trouble”, he screamed at his subordinates as the old man sauntered away.

     The lead interviewer thought he should begin by humouring the old codger who was as recalcitrant and truculent as ever.

    “Baba, despite everything, we must give thanks. At least the nation has survived”, he opened with syrupy smiles.

     “I don’t understand that kind of survival. It is the survival of an ayorunbo”, the old man snorted with his malignant humour resurfacing. The audience was stunned into total silence.

    “Baba, what is an ayorunbo?” the second interviewer inquired.

        “He who has escaped from heaven”, the old man replied, deadpan.

         “Kai, kai dis Yariba baba na shege !” one man dressed in babanriga hollered from the back of the hall.

        “So baba, what is the state of the Nigerian state?” the lead interviewer demanded.

     “ The Nigerian state is in quite a state, which means the state is pregnant. But let me tell you this, we will not allow all the nonsense you are planning. No matter what happens the man there must spend his eight years, sam, sam. If anything happens, you can say goodbye to Nigeria”, the old man submitted.

     “Haba!”, the man in babanriga shouted.

    “You can haba till eternity. When you people were running the ruining the country and mismanaging everything, we didn’t disturb you, or did we?” the old man queried.

    “So, it is now turn by turn mismanagement, abi?” a well -dressed young man sitting in the front row demanded, his diction suggesting class and affluence.

     “Call it anything. Na you sabi dat one”, Baba Lekki retorted.

     “Dem Yoruba people don bring dem wuruwuru and magomago into dis matter again.” One chap with an eastern accent screamed.

    “Thunder fire your mother. If you say another word, I will send akalamagbo to seal your mouth. Where was your mother when I was carrying poun-poun in Agodi Prisons because of Azikiwe in the fifties?” the old man exploded. Pandemonium almost set in at this point. But things calmed down quickly.

    “Baba what is your view of the rumoured Jonathan entry to the presidential race?” the lead man asked as he cast furtive glances around.

      “Call no man lucky until good luck has followed him till the end. Goodluck is Sigidi who wants to test his luck by demanding for a bath. Nothing must stop a small child from climbing the hill of Langbodo, ” the old man scoffed with apocalyptic relish. It was at this point that some well-armed militants rushed in through the backdoor and sent everybody scampering for safety.

    •This column is proceeding on annual leave.

  • Dangote refinery and trade union activism

    Dangote refinery and trade union activism

    • By Mobolaji Sanusi

    At this season of Nigeria’s 65th independence celebrations, yours sincerely considered it sad to note that the refining of the country’s most precious endowment is creating a recurring but disruptive albatross to the growth and general economic wellbeing of the nation.

    Days past, the purportedly resolved tango between Dangote Refinery and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers/ Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria – NUPENG/PENGASSAN by the federal government remains another sour spot in efforts to revive a corruption-induced near comatose petroleum industry.

    Before forging ahead, yours sincerely considers making a necessary confession as a prelude to today’s piece: And this has to do with my not particularly being a big fan of Aliko Dangote because of the business tradition that capitalists like Aliko are ruthless money men that are always ready to decimate any seen or unseen obstacles on the paths to achieving their profiteering goals. Unimaginable wealth creation antics of investors like Alikos of this world could sometimes be system compromising. They, in pursuit of wealth, usually don’t accept ‘NO’ for an answer.

    Notwithstanding, the foregoing would not detract from applauding the significance of investments of the Alikos of this country in creating gainful employment for millions of Nigerians – contributing to national development and growth in the process. Sadly, other immensely rich Nigerians keep their wealth in the banks, making fat interest earnings far from the prying eyes of the public.

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    Consequent upon this, there’s the need for a dispassionate scrutiny of the industrial tango between Aliko’s Dangote Refinery and NUPENG/PENGASSAN so that in a civil polity, a clear boundary, moving forward, can be set between a private growing concerns, labour union activism and national security cum interests.

    What’s at issue is NUPENG-PENGASSAN’s nosy intrusion, under the guise of protecting members’ interests, in the way Aliko chooses to manage his $20 billion refinery business. It is quite possible that the accusation of unfair treatment of Nigerian workers at the expense of expatriate employees, particularly Indians, who are reportedly being paid fat wages, might have added to the industrial animosity against the refinery. The overzealous reaction of the trade union stands condemned. Let it sink at the moment that, until when Rabiu’s BUA petroleum refinery is fully completed and functional,  and even after, every necessary governmental support must be accorded Aliko so as not to send a wrong signal to the world that this country can forsake her critical investors at their moments of needs.

    Kudos to the government’s team led by Mr. Wale Edun, the Honourable Minister for Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, for reaching a seeming denouement on the impasse before it spiralled out of control. It is good to know that the sacked 800 staff of the refinery will be reabsorbed and redeployed to other investment projects of the Dangote Group.

    But the key issue of what happens is that a trade union body tries to hold a huge investment such as the Dangote Refinery by the jugular while hiding under freedom of association guaranteed by the grundnorm and even the ILO Convention. It’s Aliko Dangote’s company today, but who knows whose company’s turn will be affected tomorrow.

    PENGASSAN leadership acted, while its encounter with the refinery lasted, as if another name for unionism is lawlessly putting a nation under siege. Its leadership acted as if they were motivated by other interests other than that of the affected workers of the refinery.

    It is evident that a clear line exists, and must continue to exist, between labour rights and national interests. However, going forward, the Federal Ministry of Labour must step up its advocacy efforts in this area. Such action is crucial not only to raise public awareness but also to prevent the kind of unnecessary panic caused by oil workers’ unions, who recently threatened a nationwide shutdown of petroleum and gas supply during their dispute with Dangote Refinery, despite lacking the authority to carry out such a threat.

    Undoubtedly, workers have the right to organize, protest and strike as stated in the combined reading of section 40 of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees the right to freedom of association, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98 of which Nigeria is a signatory, allowing voluntary workers will to join trade unions. But like every other inalienable rights, this right to associate with a trade union to protect employees’ rights and possibly embark on a strike action where necessary as a legitimate tool of collective bargaining, is not absolute.

    There are constitutional proviso, including restrictions to protect public safety, order, health, morality, and national security. It should also be noted that the Trade Disputes Act lays down strict condition precedent that must be met before a strike can be lawfully embarked upon by a labour union. These include conciliation, arbitration, and reference to the National Industrial Court. It is doubtful that NUPENG-PENGASSAN ever fully explored these areas before putting the refinery, albeit the nation on avoidable siege with their strike.

    The trade unions mischievously pretended to forget that petroleum and gas supply under the law are classified as essential services which they lacked the powers to disrupt because doing such is not only criminal but also inimical to national survival and an act of economic sabotage that can cripple the nation’s vital activities.

    Even the International Labour Organization, despite guaranteeing the right to strike, equally accepts restrictions where services are “essential to the life, personal safety, or health of the population.” This fully describes directly or incidentally what Dangote’s refinery does. The law governing essential services to protect national security is very handy for the government to deploy next time this happens.

    PENGASSAN should be schooled on the reality that the country is no longer under military rule when the unions were effectively deployed to combat military dictatorship.  At this point in time, the country is under a constitutional democracy premised on Professor A.V. Dicey’s well espoused doctrine of the rule of law. Thus, the rights and limitations of employers and employees exist and, in this particular instance, must be obeyed by the parties involved to halt any ugly tide of human and economic disruptions.

    Can anyone deny the staring fact that we’re in this mess because in sixty-five years of being an independent entity, we as a nation have four government-owned refineries. But as of today, none of the refineries is working at anything near satisfactory? Yet, every budgetary season, we set aside money for turnaround maintenance, usually in hard currency, but nothing positive ever comes out of this waste of public funds.

    Recently, the immediate past Managing Director/CEO of NNPCL, Mr. Mele  Kyari, and some of his top executives were reportedly invited for questioning by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over misappropriation of money allocated for the Port Harcourt refinery. Nothing has come out of that invitation. Another sad thing is that some Nigerians employed to work in these refineries who are members of these trade unions collect salaries and allowances and were sent on training programs abroad for doing nothing.

    Some of them have actually retired and paid gratuity and pensions for decades of unproductivity. This sorry state is being replicated in Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mills and others where trillions of the nation’s hard earned money are daily wasted by unionised staff idling away. The oil cabal and allies masquerading as trade unions holding our petroleum industry hostage should look elsewhere, forthwith.

    If a globally renowned capitalist, riding on our collective ineptitude and tomfoolery and having enjoyed scandalously discretionary forex rate approvals from the Federal Government, was able to successfully build one functional refinery with 650,000 bpd capacity, we should do everything to support him to make it work in our collective interests.

    Yours sincerely believe our trade unions should, as a matter of necessity, be encouraged to discharge their duty of protecting worker’s interests; but this should preferably be done with dignifying poise devoid of ulterior motives. This is what can make Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, the father of Trade Union Movement from Guyana, turn in his grave in admiration for what the movement is doing in this country.

    Nigerians will be better off to see this privately-owned Dangote refinery  succeed so as to insulate the nation from avoidable waste of scarce forex expended on sometimes phantom, but most times, avoidably needless fuel importation with catastrophic consequences on the wellbeing of the economy. My humble submission!

    •Sanusi, former MD/CEO of Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency, is currently the managing partner at AMS RELIABLE SOLICITORS.

  • CSOs urge FG to protect Dangote refinery from ‘oil cartel’

    CSOs urge FG to protect Dangote refinery from ‘oil cartel’

    A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON), Nigerian Interfaith Forum (NIF), National Coalition for Market Men, Women and Artisans (NACOMWA), and Petroleum Consumers’ Protection Alliance (PCPA) have called on the federal government to support the Dangote Refinery and petrochemicals against ongoing attacks by “oil cartel.”

    The organisations that for decades, Nigerians have been held hostage by a cartel that thrived on import dependency, round-tripping, subsidy scams, and artificial scarcity.

    The organisations condemned recent actions of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), and the ill-timed strike threats by Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) that disrupted activities at the oil company.

    COCSON’s President, Ibrahim Suleiman; NIF’s National Chairman, Mathew Ayodele; NACOMWA’s National President, Boma Agbede, and PCPA’s Chairman, Yusuf Danladi, charged President Bola Tinubu to hold the unions responsible if there is a breakdown of law and order in the country.

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    The organisations noted that DAPPMAN has chosen to undermine the Dangote Refinery and petrochemical and other indigenous refining initiatives because they fear competition, transparency, and efficiency.

    According to them, DAPPMAN’s opposition to Dangote Refinery’s emergence as a major force in local refining is not about policy or about patriotism but about preserving their stranglehold over Nigerians.

    “Their agenda is to keep fuel importation alive, so they can continue profiteering at the expense of ordinary citizens who are already battered by poverty, unemployment, and inflation,” they said

    “We declare our unwavering support for the Dangote Refinery and other indigenous refineries as the path to energy security, job creation, and economic sovereignty.

    “We demand that the government stand firm with the Dangote Refinery and accelerate policies that will break the cartel’s stranglehold once and for all,” they added.

  • Group alleges plot by external forces to frustrate Dangote Refinery

    Group alleges plot by external forces to frustrate Dangote Refinery

    Stand-Up South South Security Group has called on Federal Government and patriotic Nigerians to resist the perceived plots by external forces to pull down Dangote Refinery, located in Lagos State, Nigeria.

    In a statement on Wednesday by its National Secretary, Comrade Endurance Ukutegbere, the group said: “ As a Country and Nigerians, we should be very proud that Dangote Refinery is the WORLD’s largest single train Petroleum Refinery’

    It stated: “This is why the Federal Government, our fellow country men in  NUPENG and PENGASSAN must put into consideration the broader benefits of the Dangote Refinery to the country and Nigerians.

    “Nigeria got Independence from the British government 65 years ago, but unfortunately, Nigerians are still slaves to petroleum products importers and crude oil exporters. This country, Nigeria needs liberty and absolute independence from the slaves masters”

    According to the group: “ These petroleum products importers and crude oil exporters will do everything possible to pull down the Dangote Refinery, and Nigerians, including the leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria PENGASSAN, and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers NUPENG  must avoid the temptation of becoming an instruments to achieve this anti-Nigeria agenda”

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    “This is very important, the leadership of PENGASSAN should also understand that workers of Dangote Refinery still enjoys  the constitutional rights to join the union or not, in tandem to “ Freedom of Association. More so,  Dangote Refinery workers are expected to comply with the terms and conditions of their employments.”

    The statement continued: “ In this country, we all are aware that Lecturers of private Universities are not member of ASUU, and they have not been compelled to become members of ASUU. So, it is imperative to advise PENGASSAN to accept and respect the decision of Dangote Refinery that it’s workers will not join or become members of PENGASSAN.

    “Ironically, Nigerians appears to have lost confidence on when the moribund Refineries belonging to the Federal Government will ever come up and start production. A bird at hand, is worth more than millions of birds in the bush. Therefore, as a nation, we must ensure it’s survival and protect the Dangote Refinery.”

    The group thanked the National Security Adviser and leadership of other security agencies for their intervention in resolving the industrial dispute between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN.

    “Regrettably, it is becoming obvious that those behind the deliberate killing of Nigeria Refineries are plotting to pull down Dangote Refinery for whatever reason. The suffering masses were already battling with impact of inflation, high cost of living. Any move to frustrate Dangote Refinery will mean to further punish Nigerians.

    “With over 3,000 Nigerians  employed and actively working at the Dangote Refinery, the Federal Government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nigerian of good conscience must prevent the pulling down of Dangote Refinery.

    “Nigeria lost a golden opportunity in 2007, when Dangote-led consortium was denied the acquisition of PH and Kaduna Refineries at  $750 million. If Dangote was allowed to acquire and run the PH and Kaduna Refineries since 2007 till date,  Nigeria would have achieved energy independence nearly two decades ago”

    The statement concluded,: “ Now that Alhaji Aliko Dangote has built his private Dangote Refinery from the scratch to completion, PENGASSAN and NUPENG must take their fight to the Federal Government to revive the moribund Warri, PH and Kaduna  Refineries.”

  • Don’t cut supply to Dangote Refinery, court orders PENGASSAN

    Don’t cut supply to Dangote Refinery, court orders PENGASSAN

    • Strike is security concern, says minister
    • NLC puts workers on the alert

    Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has been barred by the National Industrial Court (NIC) in Abuja from cutting supplies  of petroleum products to the $20 billion Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals  in Lagos.

    Justice Emmanuel Subilim issued the order yesterday while ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by  the refinery’s management. The motion was argued  by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) George Ibrahim.  

    Also to be affected by  the order are the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd, (NNPCL), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC),which are   respondents to the motion.

    The Federal Government also yesterday said the strike by PENGASSAN over the sack of 800 workers by Dangote Refinery was a matter of security concern.

    The union members yesterday barricaded the entrances to  the NNPCL, NMDPRA  and NUPRC offices in Abuja, preventing their officials from gaining access till the Dangote Refinery recalled the sacked workers.

    Dangote Refinery, in an affidavit supporting its motion at the industrial court, claimed that in recent times, it noted  incidents of sabotage by some of the  employees in the Lagos-based plant that  raised issues of grave health concern and safety of human lives.

     The company added that it came to an irresistible conclusion that there should be re-organisation in the plant, which led to 800 of its 3,000  workers losing their jobs last Thursday.

    The management stated that it was surprised to see online reports the following day(Friday)   that the workers  were laid off because they joined PENGASSAN.

    The company said it refuted the report via a statement in which it also explained it was not averse to employee unionising. 

    The management added that by a letter dated last Friday and allegedly circulated online by PENGASSAN through its General Secretary,   Lamumba Okugbawa, the union wrote Minister of State for  Petroleum Resources  (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo, warning that its members would take action that would force the refinery to its knees if the sacked workers were not reabsorbed.

    It added: “The first defendant issued a press statement on the 26th day of September, 2025, wherein it erroneously referred to the laying off of the workers by the claimant as anti-labour practices, alleging that the workers were being victimised because they joined the 1st defendant(PENGASSAN) as members of the union, which is not correct.

    “The first defendant is going to make good its threat to shut down operations of the claimant, knowing the strength of its membership across the country, unless the court intervenes.

    “The claimant’s plant was constructed with over $20 billion   by its promoters to solve the energy problem of Nigeria that has been lingering for decades and has been sailing with good results to consumer satisfaction and have been making significant contribution to the economy of Nigeria, but the first defendant if allowed to make good its threat will undoubtedly plunge Nigeria into the dark days of energy dearth and crisis and again, jeopardise the livelihood of the Nigerian’s end users and consumers and negatively impact on the economy

    Read Also: 2027: Jonathan, David Mark disagree on ADC ticket

    “The first defendant has not engaged the claimant with respect to a dispute, if any, before championing and calling for an industrial action against the claimant contrary to the extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” 

    Ruling after listening to    Dangote Refinery’s lawyer, George Ibrahim (SAN, Justice Subilim held that the balance of convenience is in favour of the claimant as the continuation of the strike would irreparably damage its business and cripple the provision of essential services to the Nigerian public.

    The judge was of the view that it was in the interest of justice for the court to restrain the respondents to preserve the industrial peace and further aid the continuous provision of essential services to the  public pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

    Justice Subilim, while granting the restraining order, directed that copies of the order be promptly served on the respondents, along with motion on notice.

    He subsequently adjourned till October 13 for the hearing of the motion on notice.

    PENGASSAN action is security concern to Fed Govt

    Labour and Employment Minister Muhammad Dingyadi said yesterday that the strike by the PENGASSAN posed a significant security and economic concern to the Federal Government.

    Before the meeting between the oil unions’ leaderships, Dangote Refinery representatives and the Government team went into a closed-door session, Dingyadi promised that the government would ensure that the strike didn’t escalate into a national emergency.

    The meeting had Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha  and top officials from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in attendance.

    Dingyadi admitted that the government initially underestimated the scale of the industrial action.

    He said:  “We didn’t know the magnitude of this strike. Initially, we thought it was just about Dangote Refinery, but we have now been informed that it has extended to affect NNPC and other subsidiaries in the oil and gas industry.

    “What is happening today(Monday)  is of concern to this country,   our economy, and  the security of our nation.

    “PENGASSAN has always been very peaceful, and we know for a very long time they have never done this kind of thing.

    “We consider them as friends and as people who wish this country well. Their action must be understood as a reflection of deep concerns that deserve urgent and sincere attention.

    “We want to make sure that this face-off is not extended to the ordinary citizens of the country.

    “That is why we are taking urgent steps to act as conciliators, to resolve this issue amicably for the good of our workers, our economy, and the spirit of our nation.”

    As at few minutes to midnight, the meeting was still ongoing.

    Dangote Refinery assures  consumers of steady supply 

    Also yesterday, the refinery authorities assured Nigerians of uninterrupted supply of  petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene and cooking gas. 

    The assurance came amid alleged planned attack on the refinery by some PENGASSAN members and hired thugs.

     According to intelligence sources, the plotters intend to disrupt critical units of the facility, particularly those responsible for petrol production.

    Sources said that the management has requested heightened protection and surveillance.

     One of the sources alleged that the planned disruption was part of a broader strategy to undermine Nigeria’s progress in domestic refining and push the country back into dependence on imported fuel.

    “Despite the sabotaging acts of PENGASSAN and its allies, Dangote Refinery is determined to continue with uninterrupted production and supply of petroleum products to the Nigerian people and businesses,” he said. 

    Dangote should apologise, says TUC 

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) demanded an apology from the   Dangote   Refinery  management over the dismissal of the  workers.

    “We demand the reversal of the arbitrary dismissal of over 800 workers by Dangote. If that is done, the next thing that we demand is a public apology from the Dangote Refinery Management, with an assurance that such won’t be used against the union in the future,’’ the union said in a statement by its Secretary General, Nuhu Toro.

    Toro accused the refinery  management of giving the TUC a bad name for calling for the reinstatement of the dismissed workers

    “What Dangote simply did was to give us a bad name. The first thing he did was to violate the agreement we both signed, arising from the previous intervention, that no worker was going to be victimised,’’ he said.

    He also dismissed the claim by the management that the affected workers were plotting to  sabotage the firm’s  operations

     “For Dangote to react, he has to hide under the guise of sabotage, which is debatable in my opinion, because by the time you say sabotage, you must be able to substantiate and provide evidence of who is sabotaging,” Toro said.

    NLC mobilises affiliates 

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday directed its affiliates and members nationwide to immediately mobilise for what it described as a “full-scale, decisive engagement” against the refinery for its alleged anti-worker practices.

    The NLC directive is contained in an internal memo by its President, Joe Ajaero. 

    The NLC stated that the matter has moved beyond the individual struggles of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, becoming a broader fight for workers’ rights across the country.

    The memo reads in part: “This letter serves as a formal and urgent request in response to the protracted and deliberate anti-worker crusade being waged by the Dangote Group against the Nigerian working class.

    “The ongoing battle with PENGASSAN and NUPENG is merely a symptom of a deeper sickness – a capitalist pathology of union-busting, worker enslavement, and gross impunity that defines the Group’s industrial relations strategy.”  The congress   further accused  Dangote Refinery   of behaving like “a state within a state,”   and   repeatedly violating  Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, flouted International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98, and treated national labour laws with “utter disdain.”

    It  described the company’s operations as ‘’plantations of exploitation, where the dignity of the worker is systematically crushed to maximise profit for the few.” 

    The Congress added: “The time for pleading and endless, fruitless dialogue is over. The moment for decisive, collective action is now.

    “The impunity of the Dangote Group must be met with the resistance of organised labour.”  

  • Court bars PENGASSAN, others from cutting gas supply to Dangote Refinery

    Court bars PENGASSAN, others from cutting gas supply to Dangote Refinery

    A National Industrial Court in Abuja has restrained Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and others from embarking on its planned industrial action against Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, including cutting crude and gas supply to the Dangote Refinery.

    Justice Emmanuel Subilim issued the order on Monday while ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by Dangote Refinery, which was argued by its lawyer, George Ibrahim (SAN).

    Also to be affected are the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd, (NNPCL), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)

    and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), listed a respondents to the motion.

    Dangote Refinery stated, in a supporting affidavit, that in recent times, there have been incidents of sabotage by some of its employees in its plant, raising issues of grave health concern and safety of human lives.

    It added that its management came to an irresistible conclusion that there should be re-organisation in the plant which led to relieving of some of its staff of their employment and same was communicated to all staff by a memo or circular dated 25th September, 2025.

    The company stated that in the early hours of September 26 it received online report that its Nigerian workers were laid off because they joined PENGASSAN.

    it said it refuted the false report via a press statement, following which it explained in clear terms that it was not averse to its employees unionizing as that is their constitutional right.

    The company said it has over 3,000 Nigerians in its workforce and that only a few number of staff were affected by the reorganisation of the plant as a result of sabotage and safety concerns.

    Read Also: JUST IN: PENGASSAN closes NUPRC, NMDPRA, NNPCL 

    It added that by a letter dated September 26 and allegedly circulated online by PENGASSAN through its General Secretary, Comrade Lamumba Ighotemu Okugbawa, the union wrote Minister of Petroleum (Gas) and warned that its members were going to take action that would force the claimant (Dangote Refinery) to its knees if the claimant fails to recall the affected staff which was described in the said letter as over 800.

    It added: “The first defendant issued a press statement on the 26th day of September, 2025 wherein it erroneously referred to the laying off of the workers by the claimant as anti-labour practices, alleging that the workers were being victimized because they joined the 1st Defendant as members of the union which is not correct.

    “The first defendant is going to make good its threat to shut down operations of the claimant knowing the strength of its membership across the country unless the court intervenes.

    “The claimant’s plant was constructed with over 20 Billion UD Dollars by its promoters to solve the energy problem of Nigeria that has been lingering for decades and has been sailing with good results to consumer satisfaction and have been making significant contribution to the economy of Nigeria, but the first efendant if allowed to make good its threat will undoubtedly plunge Nigeria into the dark days of energy dearth and crisis and again, jeopardise the livelihood of the Nigerian’s end users and consumers and negatively impact on the economy

    “The first defendant has not engaged the claimant with respect to a dispute, if any, before championing and calling for an industrial action against the Claimant contrary to the extant laws of the Federal republic of Nigeria,” the claimant said.

    Ruling after listening to Ibrahim, Justice Subilim held that the balance of convenience is in favour of the claimant as the continuation of the strike would irreparably damage its business and cripple the provision of essential services to the Nigerian public.

    The judge was of the view that it was in the interest of justice for the court to restrain the respondents to preserve the industrial peace and further aid the continuous provision of essential services to the Nigerian public pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

    Justice Subilim while granting the restraining order, directed that copies of the said order be promptly served on the respondents, along with motion on notice. 

    The judge held that the restraining order shall last for seven days only. 

    He subsequently adjourned till October 13 for the hearing of the motion on notice.

  • Federal Govt intervenes in Dangote, PENGASSAN row

    Federal Govt intervenes in Dangote, PENGASSAN row

    • Oil workers’ unions  strike call condemnable, says Dangote Refinery

    The Federal Government has launched a concerted mediation to stave off disruption to petrol supply.

    This follows the escalating disagreement between senior oil workers union and Dangote Petroleum Refinery (DPR).

    It is the second time in one week that DPR will be battling with labour unions in the oil industry.

    Last week, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) threatened to stop loading of products from the refinery.

    Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, yesterday chaired a marathon session of the Steering Committee of the Domestic Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency Initiative where issues of the naira-for-crude oil arrangement and the row between Dangote Refinery and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) were discussed extensively.

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, who appealed to the labour unions to shelve the planned strike, invited all parties to an emergency meeting today, as part of a roundtable to settle the dispute.

    The government assured Nigerians that the supply of refined petroleum products will remain uninterrupted, despite the concerns in the downstream oil sector.

    Dangote Refinery decried the strike call by PENGASSAN.

    The Edun-led committee reaffirmed the continuation of naira-for-crude policy, dispelling any concerns about the initiative that had been hailed as a game-changer and a major contributor to the stability in the downstream oil sector.

    According to the committee, all outstanding issues, particularly the dispute between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery, are being addressed with urgency.

    The committee said the Federal Government is committed to sustaining stability in the petroleum products market.

    It said: “The crude oil-for-naira initiative will continue”.

    The government noted that its priority remains guaranteeing energy security, protecting consumers, and preventing shocks that could disrupt fuel availability in the country.

    Dingyadi said the ministry has taken steps to bring both parties to a roundtable to stop their dispute from escalating.

    He called on the leadership of PENGASSAN to withdraw the strike notice to allow the ministry resolve the dispute in a peaceful atmosphere.

    Read Also: Strike: No disruption to petrol supply – PENGASSAN 

    Dingyadi said: “The Ministry of Labour and Employment through the Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations has extended invitations to the leadership of PENGASSAN and the management of Dangote Refinery to attend a conciliation meeting in my office on Monday.

    “I appeal to both parties to be mindful of the importance of the petroleum sector to the country, being the core of the economy. A strike will not only lead to heavy revenue losses by the country but also cause more hardship and difficulties for Nigerians. Consequentially, it will have adverse impacts, both on economic stability and national security”.

    He promised that the government would resolve the dispute amicably to the satisfaction of all involved and in the national interest.

    Dangote Refinery also yesterday defended its position, calling on the government and Nigerians to protect the refinery as a national asset that must not be threatened by vested interests disguising as labour unions.

    In a statement, the management of the refinery decried the “lawless act of economic sabotage” pursued through untruths and intimidations.

    “We call on the Federal Government and its agencies, as well as Nigerians, to stare down PENGASSAN and put a stop to the machinations and blackmail tactics of its oligarchs and sponsors,” Dangote said.

    According to Dangote, the threat by PENGASSAN on the refinery could hurt the economic recovery process and the country’s energy security.

    “We must not allow the association and its co-conspirators to sabotage and imperil the economic recovery and energy security of the country. The economic recovery of Nigeria must not be derailed or reversed by PENGASSAN,” Dangote said.

    PENGASSAN, yesterday, vowed to press on with its nationwide strike until the Dangote Refinery recalls over 800 workers allegedly dismissed for joining the union.

    PENGASSAN’s President, Festus Osifo, said the action was forced by what he described as Dangote’s flagrant violation of Nigeria’s labour laws.

    He said: “This is not a banana republic. Over 800 Nigerians, who subscribed to PENGASSAN, were issued sack letters simply because they chose to belong to a union. That is unacceptable. Until those workers are recalled, this strike will continue.”

    Osifo, who also leads the Trade Union Congress (TUC), spoke on a national television programme last night. He rejected suggestions that the action amounted to sabotage.

    He said: “To every action there is a reaction. The person sabotaging Nigeria’s economy is Aliko Dangote. He cannot sit down and break the laws of the land because he is wealthy”.

    Osifo argued that the oil workers were within their rights.

    “Two weeks ago, close to 1,000 workers filled forms to join PENGASSAN in accordance with Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution. We wrote to Dangote Refinery informing it. Instead of respecting the law, it sent teams from unit to unit to confirm those names, and then issued mass sack letters. This is not done anywhere in the world,” Osifo said.

    He said the union’s strike would not have an immediate impact on petroleum supply given the stock of products at Dangote Refinery, unless the refinery chooses to sabotage supply.

    “There will be no disruption in the supply of petrol because of our strike tomorrow (Monday). We have fuel in our tanks that will serve us for more than 30 days.

    “Nigerians should hold Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals responsible if there is a disruption in fuel supply because our members don’t control the tanker drivers”.

    He said Dangote’s often claim of investment was an exaggeration, which should not give the group impunity to act against labour laws.

    The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) also yesterday warned that the crisis between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery could affect electricity supply.

    NISO noted the implications of the tension beyond availability of petrol supply, calling on both parties to embrace dialogue and peace in the interest of the national economy.

    “The national grid relies heavily on gas-fired generation, and any sustained disruption in gas supply would constrain generation capacity, affect system operations and undermine the stability and reliability of electricity supply in the country.

    “While NISO is considering measures to mitigate total grid collapse, we urge all parties to embrace dialogue and lawful mechanisms of dispute resolution in the interest of the economy and wellbeing of Nigerians.

    “We reaffirm our commitment to ensuring a secure and reliable operation of the national grid and will continue to support wider efforts at safeguarding energy security,” NISO said.

    Chief Executive Officer of Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, said cutting off gas supply, coal supply to Dangote Refinery was a disproportionate response to the development.

    He said: “We are talking here about issues of energy security. We are also talking about what exactly is in consonance with labour laws. If there are issues with an employer, I think there are processes to go about it. There are processes of resolving disputes. You have industrial courts, you have other processes. This particular step, for me, is going to the extreme.

    “I don’t think that is the way to go. In all of this, you never can tell what the motive is because most of these people, including the unions, are people who have been major beneficiaries of the importation regime. The coming of Dangote Refinery into the industry has created disruption and those benefiting from the status quo, including some of these unions, are not likely to be happy with it.

    “The unions may have committed an act of illegality by going as far as that. It is a disproportionate response from the union to Dangote. I’m not saying they cannot engage in a dispute but to go as far as that is disproportionate. It’s going to the extreme. If the company gets force majeure, losses must have been suffered on both sides. This is clearly a disruption inflicted by the union deliberately. So, I’m not even sure whether that can qualify as force majeure. It can qualify as sabotage. That is what it’s going to look like”.

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) yesterday condemned alleged anti-worker actions of the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals, including the “unjust termination of workers for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of association and unionisation.”

    In a statement by its Secretary General, Nuhu Toro, TUC asked the oil company to reinstate the 800 workers that it allegedly sacked.

    It warned that failure to recall the sacked workers or tender a public apology could lead to industrial action.

    TUC said: “We stand in solidarity with the affected workers and with their union, our affiliate PENGASSAN, whose members have been victimised merely for declaring membership. Such actions amount to a direct assault on Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution and on Nigeria’s obligations under International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.

    “We demand immediate and unconditional reinstatement of all affected workers; a public apology from Dangote management with firm assurances against future victimisation.

    “An independent investigation involving the Ministry of Labour, ILO and stakeholders into the refinery’s labour practice”.

    National Chairman of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Alhaji Shehu Gabam, also yesterday condemned the strike call by PENGASSAN.

    He described the strike call as a misguided move that threatens Nigeria’s economy and the welfare of its citizens.

    According to him, the union’s directive to shut down the oil and gas sector, particularly targeting the Dangote Refinery, amounted to sabotage and could plunge millions of Nigerians into hardship.

    He said: “The recent declaration by PENGASSAN to embark on a nationwide strike, effectively shutting down the oil and gas sector, is a reprehensible act of sabotage against the Nigerian people.

    “By targeting the Dangote Refinery and instructing members to withdraw services, PENGASSAN is not only jeopardising the stability of the oil and gas sector but also putting the livelihoods of millions of Nigerians at risk”.

    He warned that the phased shutdown, including suspension of supplies to the refinery, would trigger fuel shortages, price hikes, and potential instability in the country.

      Gabam, however, urged Nigerians to resist “an attempt to hold the nation hostage,” insisting the union’s demands appeared self-serving and contrary to national interest.

    “I reject the union’s demands, as evident from the directive to target the Dangote Refinery, which appear to be driven by a desire to undermine the progress made by the Federal Government in the oil and gas sector.

    “The government must stand firm and reject any attempts to use industrial action as a means of extorting concessions or disrupting the economy,” Gabam said.

    He expressed solidarity with the Federal Government, saying efforts to strengthen economic development should not be derailed “selfish interests.”

    He said: “I stand with the Nigerian government in its efforts to promote economic growth and development. I urge Nigerians to remain vigilant and united in the face of this challenge, rejecting any attempts to destabilise the economy or undermine the nation’s progress”.

  • Consumer forum urges FG, DSS to investigate PENGASSAN alleged plot to shut down Dangote Refinery

    Consumer forum urges FG, DSS to investigate PENGASSAN alleged plot to shut down Dangote Refinery

    The Concerned Nigerian Consumers Forum has called on the Federal Government and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate what it describes as desperate attempts by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to undermine the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, a critical national asset aimed at achieving Nigeria’s energy independence.

    In a statement by Comrade Olabisi Taiwo, President, and Dr. Justice Akani Alikor, Secretary, the Forum expressed alarm over PENGASSAN’s threats to picket the $20 billion refinery over alleged mass sackings.

    The group accused the union of risking Nigeria’s return to fuel scarcity, economic instability, and national embarrassment, urging Nigerians to question PENGASSAN’s motives.

    “PENGASSAN, alongside NUPENG, played a significant role in the collapse of Nigeria’s public refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna,” the Forum stated.

    “They resisted reforms, blocked privatization, and crippled fuel supply with strikes. Their actions contributed to the rot that turned these refineries into relics of corruption and mismanagement.”

    The Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is a private initiative designed to end Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel, stabilize prices, and create jobs.

    Read Also: Price hike, scarcity fears heighten over PENGASSAN, Dangote face-off

    The Forum emphasised that the refinery, which employs over 3,000 Nigerians and continues to recruit, is not anti-labor but focused on operational efficiency and safety.

    The company’s recent reorganisation, according to Dangote, was prompted by acts of sabotage that threatened operations.

    The Forum criticised PENGASSAN’s threat to picket the refinery despite a court order restraining industrial action, calling it “union overreach” and a violation of the rule of law.

    It also condemned the union’s inflammatory rhetoric, citing a metaphorical statement about a “witch crying in the night” as reckless and divisive.

    “Who benefits if the refinery fails?” the Forum asked. “Certainly not the Nigerian people, but fuel importers and rent seekers who profit from chaos.”

    The group urged PENGASSAN to engage in dialogue, respect the courts, and prioritize national interests over what it called “irresponsible unionism.”

    The Forum called on the Ministries of Labour, Petroleum Resources, and Justice to intervene and protect the refinery from disruption.

    “The government must send a clear message: industrial blackmail will not be tolerated,” the statement read.

    “Nigerians have suffered enough from fuel queues and economic hardship. The Dangote Refinery is our best chance at energy independence, and we must not allow vested interests to destroy it.”

    The Forum concluded by reaffirming its support for progress, stability, and the rule of law, urging all Nigerians to protect the refinery as a symbol of hope and a break from the nation’s troubled energy past.