The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PENGASSAN

  • PENGASSAN sustains closure of NNPCL, NUPRC, NMDPRA

    PENGASSAN sustains closure of NNPCL, NUPRC, NMDPRA

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Tuesday sustained the shutdown of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

    The association commenced the industrial actions on Monday because Dangote Refinery laid off over 800 workers for unionizing.

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    Recall that PENGASSAN President Comrade Festus Osifo on Sunday confirmed on Channels TV that the association had cut gas supply to Dangote Refinery and Fertilizer plant.

    The Nation monitored the situation on Monday to discover that the protesting PENGASSAN unionists remained at the entrances of the NNPCL, NUPRC, and NMDPRA despite a court order that barred the association from cutting gas supply to the refinery.

    Details shortly…

  • Works minister to PENGASSAN: shun strike action, prioritise national interest

    Works minister to PENGASSAN: shun strike action, prioritise national interest

    …as investor risks EFCC interrogation over $250m loss claim

    The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has urged the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to prioritize national interest in its dispute with the Dangote Group, warning that any strike at this sensitive time would damage Nigeria’s fragile economic recovery.

    Umahi made the appeal on Monday during an inspection of Sections I and II of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Lagos, according to a statement by his media aide, Uchenna Orji, stressing that any industrial action would derail the progress the nation is beginning to record.

    He also used the occasion to dismiss as “fraudulent” a claim by Stella Okengwu, Chief Executive Officer of Winhome, who alleged she invested $250 million in a parcel of land affected by the highway construction.

    The Minister described her allegations as a scam and warned that she risks being invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if she fails to provide evidence of the investment within seven days.

    According to Umahi, Okengwu must show proof that she purchased the land in 2022 for ₦50 million and obtained development approval, let alone committing $250 million to it.

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    “Where is the money? If it was not invested in a rickety gate on the land, then she should declare where it went,” he said, adding that the Lagos State Government had already revoked the property to make way for the Federal project and offered her monetary compensation.

    The Minister further urged her to account for the funds she claimed to have raised from diaspora investors or submit herself for investigation by anti-graft agencies.

    Civil society groups that initially supported her protests have since withdrawn, describing her claims as unfounded and misleading.

    Umahi explained that his inspection tour was part of a periodic performance evaluation of ongoing federal road projects across the country and to verify additional works being executed by the project’s contractor, Hitech Construction Company Limited.

    The entourage included Segun Sowunmi, public affairs analyst and former Atiku presidential campaign spokesperson; the Surveyor-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adebomehin; senior directors of the Federal Ministry of Works; and representatives of civil society organizations.

    Umahi said the presence of figures across party lines and civil society groups was deliberate, providing independent voices to assess the project’s quality and pace.

    He commended Hitech Construction for its commitment to national development, noting that the firm is constructing what will become Nigeria’s largest flyovers to connect Sections I and II of the highway.

    He dismissed social media reports portraying the unprotected shoulders of the highway as signs of failure, describing them as ignorance or mischief by those unfamiliar with phased engineering processes.

    He urged Nigerians to disregard such uninformed and mischievous social media activists, while assuring that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a transformational project that will not be derailed by distractions, but will stand as a backbone for national development.

    Sowunmi, who also spoke after the tour, praised the project as a masterpiece and lauded President Bola Tinubu’s infrastructure vision under the Renewed Hope agenda.

    He urged Nigerians to rise above partisan politics and support projects that secure the nation’s future.

  • PENGASSAN: Same old tactics

    PENGASSAN: Same old tactics

    Save for the disruptive, needlessly atavistic waves generated in its wake, it is at once tempting to pass-off the latest showdown between Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over an alleged disengagement of 800 workers by the management of the refinery as the last kicks of a dying horse.

    However, with PENGASSAN not merely stopping at threatening fire and brimstone on a wearied nation, but apparently sworn to bring the roof over the heads of everyone, Nigeria and Nigerians ought to be alarmed at the extent to which our industrial unions, many of whose self-entitlement are as legendary as their resort to union power has become mindlessly destructive, could go to force their will on just any institution and anyone.

    Guess it was inevitable that PENGASSAN would again put the country on the war mode so soon after its alter ego, the no-less powerful tanker drivers unit of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG-PTD) sought to disrupt the nation’s peace.

    Thanks to their nemesis, Dangote Refinery, it has been a case of each breaking of the dawn forcing new lessons on an unwilling, recalcitrant pupil.

    For NUPENG, it came to a challenge of their strange financial orthodoxy: a hefty levy of N50,000 delivered to the union coffers on every single truck loaded at the gantry – an imposition neither sanctioned by the industry regulators nor the tax authorities, but which has been accepted as convention to keep the union fat cats happy but for which business mogul, Aliko Dangote insists on applying its rightful appellation of plain extortion!

    Imagine calling out the Dangote behemoth for refusing to play the enabler for that extortion ring whose operative motif is power without responsibility!

    It is not exactly that the elements in the PENGASSAN industrial action are not worthy of careful consideration. Starting with the issue of the sack of 800 locals, PENGASSAN says Dangote Refinery has since replaced them with 2000 foreigners – an unpatriotic act, if true. PENGASSAN president, Festus Osifo noted that the problem actually started when close to 1000 workers filled forms to join PENGASSAN in accordance with Section 40 of the constitution. He claimed that the union wrote to Dangote Refinery to inform it of the development and that the company sent teams from unit to unit to verify those names only to issue them sack letters thereafter. 

    Dangote Refinery has since denied that this was not the case. It frames the entire saga as one of a union overreach; a schism designed to buoy the union’s fading relevance as well as enhance its purse. In fact, its summary of the issues as contained in the four-page advertisement in yesterday’s edition of this newspaper obviously says it all:  PENGASSAN, given its antecedents, has long ceased to be a force for good, in terms of enhancing the welfare of its members, but rather as a destructive force in the industry. One example it cited, and which has become an albatross on its neck, is the union’s role in aborting the sale of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to Bluestar Consortium promoted by business mogul, Aliko Dangote.  More than a decade and half after, the entities have remained the relics they were, and these after billions of dollars of public funds were sunk into their Turn Around Maintenances (TAMs).

    So, to suggest that there is no love-lost between the Dangote and PENGASSAN is merely stating the obvious. Like parallel lines, their interests are as divergent as to be irreconcilable. The point here is that there is nothing new in what PENGASSAN has said of the Dangote Refinery or Dangote’s other business interests that have not been said by Nigerians in one way or the other.

    At this point in time, my guess is that the issue is not that those in charge of regulation and fair consumer practices are unaware, but a case of the behemoth being entitled to some forbearance given that the terrain could, for the most part, be described as uncharted. That it continues to find sympathy among Nigerians is essentially because, its promoter, Aliko Dangote, chose to plod on where his peers would rather engage in buying and selling. This, most certainly, could not be said of PENGASSAN whose role has been more of an enabler of the rot for which the industry has long earned notoriety.

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    Talking of union overreach: calling its members in various offices, companies, institutions, and agencies, including those in the field to cease all services effective Monday, September 29 offers of classic example of mindless use of union power.  Just as ominous was the strike instrument as signed by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa: “All processes involving gas and crude supply to Dangote Refinery should be halted immediately…All IOC (International Oil Companies) branches must ramp down gas production and supply to Dangote Refinery and petrochemicals.”

    It is akin to a declaration of war, not just on the refinery as an entity, but the citizens of this country; a case of the interest of the 800 workers towering above those of 200 million odd citizens. Perhaps lost to PENGASSAN is the irony of its invocation of the constitutional safeguards regarding the right of the workers to join any association to advance their interests and presenting those rights as so expansive as if to strip the management of its prerogatives to determine how their enterprise is run, while seeking to deny other Nigerians their rights to live in peace and to enjoy those services that they are ordinarily entitled.

    Where will all of these end? It seems doubtful that the two unions ever understood the import of the saying about ‘an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object’ else they would have been more restrained in calling for a war they could never hope to win. Between union power and management prerogative, who says the former is fated to win?

    Moreover, to the extent that the lessons of the past weeks has proven a revelation of their astounding lack of strategy, I believe that their very survival would depend on their ability to better appreciate the nature of the current time and the imperative of flexibility in the choice of means to fight whatever cause they deem fit. As of the moment, our two foremost unions in the oil industry, have, sadly not even begun the slow march to unlearning their old, destructive ways!

    Two weeks ago, I had ended my piece about NUPENG’s sunset and those of its DAPPMAN allies as potentially ‘slow and drawn out’, and that ‘hoping against hope that the ship that had long departed the shores could still be halted midstream would at best be an exercise in futility’; I believe the statement applies as much to PENGASSAN as those two.

  • 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

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    “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.

  • JUST IN: PENGASSAN closes NUPRC, NMDPRA, NNPCL 

    JUST IN: PENGASSAN closes NUPRC, NMDPRA, NNPCL 

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Monday morning shutdown entrances into the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

    NMDPRA PENGASSAN chairman, Comrade Tony Iziogba, who justified the industrial action at the authority to The Nation on phone, said it was to address Dangote Refinery anti-labour manners. According to him, the refinery laid off over 800 staff who unionized.

    Similarly, the NUPRC spokesperson, Mr. Eniola Akinkuotu confirmed to The Nation that the association stopped the staff from entering the office.

    “They didn’t allow us to enter today,” he said.

    Read Also: Dangote condemns PENGASSAN’s strike call

    Meanwhile, the shutdown of gas supply must have culminated in the supply of electricity to the 11 distribution companies.

    At 9:00 am, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) only sent 2,698MW to the 11 energy distributors.

    Similarly, only 14 out of the 26 electricity Generation Companies (GenCos) were in operation at the period under review.

    The 14 GenCos produced 3,092.41MW.

    The Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pump prices remained unchanged at the time of filing this report.

  • Strike: No disruption to petrol supply – PENGASSAN 

    Strike: No disruption to petrol supply – PENGASSAN 

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has assured Nigerians that there would be no disruption in the supply of premium motor spirit otherwise known as petrol due to its strike.

    The union has threatened to commence strike on Monday to protest the alleged sack of 800 workers by the Dangote refinery and petrochemicals. 

    President of PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, said this when he featured on a national television monitored on Sunday in Abuja. 

    “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 disruption in fuel supply because our members don’t control the tanker drivers.”

    He urged Nigerians to hold Aliko Dangote responsible for allegedly “sabotaging the Nigerian economy.”

    “The person sabotaging the Nigerian economy is Dangote and his co travellers,” Osifo said. 

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    “He is the greatest saboteur of the Nigerian economy. He needs to answer for his actions.

    “We are not distracted. If Dangote calls back the people he sacked today, normalcy will return immediately.”

    He added, “We are cutting supply to Dangote and our members are withdrawing their services. We are not cutting supply to other services as of today except when there is a need to ensure safety. 

    “We have been called for a meeting at the federal ministry of Labour and we are going to attend the meeting. 

    “The president of Nigeria should call Dangote to order. He’s not bigger than the country or the constitution.”

  • Dangote refinery: Fed govt to PENGASSAN: shelve planned strike

    Dangote refinery: Fed govt to PENGASSAN: shelve planned strike

    The federal government has appealed to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENSASSAN) to reconsider its proposed strike starting tomorrow (Monday) over a dispute with Dangote refinery and petrochemicals.

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, who made this plea on Sunday, said the ministry has taken steps to bring both parties to a roundtable to stop their dispute from escalating further.

    In a statement signed by Head, Information and Public Relations of the ministry, Patience Onuobia, on Sunday, Dingyadi said that invitations have been extended to both the leadership of PENGASSAN and Dangote refinery and petrochemicals management to attend an emergency meeting in his office on Monday for the conciliation of their dispute.

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    The minister called on the leadership of PENGASSAN to withdraw the strike notice to allow the ministry to conciliate the dispute in a peaceful atmosphere.

    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 its economy. A strike will not only lead to heavy revenue losses for the country but also cause more hardship and difficulties for Nigerians. Consequently, it will have adverse impacts, both on economic stability and national security.”

    The minister urged the feuding parties to give peace a chance, assuring them that the Federal Government would resolve the dispute amicably to the satisfaction of all the parties involved and in the national interest.

  • Price hike, scarcity fears heighten over PENGASSAN, Dangote face-off

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

    • Depots raise petrol price to N980 per litre
    • Union orders cut of gas, crude supply to refinery
    • Dangote accuses PENGASSAN of economic sabotage
    • Company resumes petrol sale in naira after FG intervenes

    After the celebrated feat of eradication of fuel scarcity in the country in the last two years, the queues may return anytime soon except the federal government makes a quick intervention. Yesterday, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) ordered its seven branches to cut off crude oil and gas supplies to the $20 billion, 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical facility located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

    PENGASSAN’s directive was in response to Dangote Refinery laying off 800 Nigerian workers.

    While the Refinery’s management explained the  exercise as “part of an ongoing reorganisation to protect the facility from repeated acts of sabotage that had raised safety concerns and hampered operations,” the organised labour said it is an “act of anti-labour practices.”

    In a letter dated September 26 and signed by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery’s management of firing its members in retaliation for exercising their constitutional right to join the union.

    In a memo signed by Okugbawa, and issued to branch chairmen in TotalEnergies, Renaissances, Chevron, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando and Seplat Producing Nigeria Unlimited, the union directed the immediate shutdown of all valves and suspension of all crude loading operations to the Dangote Refinery facility.

    “As you are aware, the Management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has disengaged our members in reaction to the exercise of their constitutional right to be unionised.

    Read Also: FERA refutes PENGASSAN’s allegations against Dangote Refinery

    “They have gone further on a mission of misinformation and propaganda to justify this illegitimacy rather than engaging meaningfully with us to right the wrong.

    “Consequent to these, you are hereby directed to cut off gas supply to NGIC effective immediately. All crude oil supply valves to the Refinery should be shut.

    The loading operation for the vessel headed there should be halted immediately,” the directive read.

    The union further mandated the NGIC Chairman to ensure strict compliance with the order and told all branch chairmen to give regular updates on the action taken.

    “NGIC Chairman, ensure that gas supply to the Refinery is cut off effective immediately. All chairmen on this summons are to report promptly the progress of the directive.

    “Kindly accept the assurances of our highest esteem. Thank you,” the statement read.

    The loading operation for the vessel headed there should be halted immediately,” the directive read.

    The union further mandated the NGIC Chairman to ensure strict compliance with the order and told all branch chairmen to give regular updates on the action taken.

    “NGIC Chairman, ensure that gas supply to the Refinery is cut off effective immediately. All chairmen on this summons are to report promptly the progress of the directive.

    “Kindly accept the assurances of our highest esteem. Thank you,” the statement read.

    The union also threatened to picket the refinery if the situation was not addressed.

    Dangote Refinery however warned that the directive by PENGASSAN to cut crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery could plunge Nigerians into fresh rounds of fuel scarcity while inflicting huge revenue losses on the government.

    Dangote: No law gives PENGASSAN right to cut off gas, crude oil supplies

    In a statement released by the firm yesterday, the refinery described the directive as “criminal, reckless and an act of economic sabotage” that, if enforced, would disrupt the production and nationwide supply of critical petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene, and cooking gas.

    The company stressed that these products are indispensable to daily life and the economy, warning that Nigerians at every level from households to businesses and industries would bear the brunt of shortages.

    It noted that a sudden disruption in supply will translate into insufferable hardship for millions of Nigerians.

    “The products that would be disrupted and stopped include but are not limited to aviation fuel, petrol, kerosene, diesel and cooking gas – all products that are used and required by all stripes of Nigerians and persons living in Nigeria, whether high and mighty or lowly and ordinary.

    “In what circumstance would it be justified for PENGASSAN to so disrupt and introduce insufferable hardship into the living conditions of Nigerians? None that we can see.

    “The follow-up question is, in whose interest and on whose behalf is PENGASSAN directing and intending to inflict such anarchic and criminal disruption upon the Nigerian society and persons living in Nigeria? Most certainly not in the interest of the Nigerian State and/or the Nigerian public and citizens,” the company said.

    Beyond the immediate hardship on citizens, Dangote Refinery warned that the government’s revenue would also be dented, given the refinery’s status as one of the country’s largest taxpayers and contributors to both federal and state coffers.

    The company said any pause in operations would stall contributions to the national purse and undermine investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

    The statement noted: “This is also economic sabotage against the Nigerian State at multiple levels.

    “Dangote Refinery is the only refinery of its type in Africa and ordinarily should be the pride of all Nigerians as well as the governments of Nigeria.

    “It should ordinarily have special protection and status and indeed qualifies as a strategic national asset.”

    It added that an irreparable injury to the Dangote Refinery such as PENGASSAN has directed constitutes a national embarrassment to the country and a disincentive to external investors who ordinarily would have been encouraged by the success of Dangote Refinery to contemplate investing in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector or generally.

    “PENGASSAN may also not be aware that Dangote Refinery is one of the largest contributors to the revenue purse of the Nigerian governments – both federal and sub-nationals.

    “That contribution is currently threatened by PENGASSAN and would of course be paused if and as soon as and for as long as the PENGASSAN directive is implemented by its branches,” it noted.

    The statement also noted that PENGASSAN had no legal authority to interfere in supply contracts between the refinery and its vendors, insisting that the action undermined the rule of law.

    “Absolutely no law gives PENGASSAN the right to direct its branches to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all.

    “There is also no law in our statute books that would support or enable the PENGASSAN branches having to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all.

    “Besides, it constitutes a criminal conduct for PENGASSAN or its members to disrupt and/or interfere howsoever in the contract between Dangote Refinery and its various vendors for the supply of gas and crude oil to the Refinery.

    “Those supply contracts were not entered into with PENGASSAN; they were entered into by Dangote Refinery with third party vendors and suppliers and PENGASSAN has no right whatsoever to disrupt and/or interfere with the performance of those contracts.”

    Calling on the Federal Government and security agencies to act swiftly, the refinery urged Nigerians to take note of the “unquantifiable and irredeemable hardship which PENGASSAN wishes to inflict on all of us” if not checked, warning that fuel queues, energy shortages and price hikes could quickly resurface.

    It urged PENGASSAN to submit to amicable and legal resolution and not resort to economic sabotage and mob action that could introduce mayhem and chaos and easily translate into anarchy.

    Stakeholders are worried over the development, warning of its dire consequences on the country’s economy.

    For instance, Dangote Refinery, it is believed, has been the stabilising factor in premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol supply and steady availability in the country.

    Presently, on a daily basis, the refinery produces lighter products of 104 million litres- 57 million litres of petrol; 20 million litres of jet fuel and 27 million litres of diesel. 44 per cent of these volumes can meet the entire requirements of Nigeria while 56 per cent of the production is exported. 

    This production capacity is sufficient to meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s local demand for refined petroleum products.

    The facility, according to Aliko Dangote, had exported 1.1 litres of petrol in the last three months. Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption is put at between 46 million litres and 50 million litres.

    But notwithstanding the refinery’s capacity to meet local demands, Nigeria’s fuel import reliance rose to 71 per cent of total petrol consumed domestically in the month of May and June, 2025. The remaining 28.62 per cent was sourced from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

    By implication, marketers, who should access products locally, are instead spending foreign exchange to import refined petroleum products.

    This was contained in data released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in its July report presented to Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). NMDPRA is the downstream regulator of the oil sector.

    The report further gave a breakdown which indicated that in the period, the petrol consumed amounted to total of 1.478 billion litres. Of this total, only 455,188,512 litres was sourced from local refineries, leaving 1.023,128,233 to importation.

    The 1.478 billion litres of petrol consumed in June was a 16.42 per cent decrease from 1.768 billion litres supplied in May.

    The report also indicated that the average daily petrol supply for the month was 49.277 million litres, of which 34.104 million litres was imported and 15.172 million sourced from local refineries.

    The total Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) consumed for the month was 432,180, 605 litres. This is 1.73 per cent higher than 424,829, 199 consumed in the month of May.

    Of the total 432,180, 605 litres consumed in June, 378,130,852 was imported while 58,049,753 was from local refineries.

    Similarly, the average daily supply was 14,406,020 litres, of which 12,604,372 was imported and 1,801, 658 was locally sourced.

    Union overreaching itself —Experts

    But stakeholders still maintained that notwithstanding these figures, PENGASSAN’s directive to shut gas and crude supply to Dangote refinery would still have a telling effect on the economy and by extension motorists. Besides, they cautioned that the unions may be overreaching with their actions.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Mud Yusuf, said the idea of going to cut off gas supply, coal supply to Dangote is a disproportionate response to this particular development.

    “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 these issues, you never can tell what the motive is, because most of these people, including the unions, these are people who have been major beneficiaries of the importation regime.

    “The coming into the industry of Dangote Refinery normally has created a lot of disruption and those who are benefiting from the status quo, including even some of these unions, are not likely to be happy with it.

    “But what is more important in all of this is to ensure that due process is followed even by the unions. I don’t think the next thing to do is to go and be shutting gas pipeline or crude supply.

    “This will also impact on contractual obligations between Dangote and the suppliers of these inputs.

    “I don’t think they (PENGASSAN) need to go as far as that. I think there are better ways of resolving these disputes without creating an energy crisis for the country,” Dr.Yusuf said.

    Although he agreed the suppliers can claim force majeure in the event that Dangote decides to take action against them for not supplying him the raw materials as agreed, Yusuf said the Unions may have even committed an act of illegality.

    “They 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, because 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,” Yusuf warned, adding that “there is need to interrogate the legality of even what they are doing, because there are rules guiding labour actions.

    “There are rules guiding the way you can also express your grievances, even as a union. I’m not sure that this particular step is covered in terms of what is legally permissible. You know, on that, you know, I doubt it and if it is found to be illegal, then there have to be consequences.

    “We need to send a signal that nobody is above the law. I mean, you have the Ministry of Labour, you have the industrial courts. That is why they are there to resolve labour disputes. 

    “Of course, there is a major risk of disruption to petrol and fuel supply to the country because Dangote refinery is a major supplier of petrol and fuel.

    “It’s a major supplier; it will disrupt the flow of supply of petrol and fuel and that will not be good for the country,” Yusuf concluded.

    Company resumes petrol sale in naira after FG’s intervention

    Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery late yesterday resumed petrol sale in naira after announcing its suspension on Friday.

    The Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Dangote Group, Tony Chiejina, in a message to The Nation, said the resumption followed the intervention of the Naira for Crude Technical Committee chairman.

    The resumption of the sales in naira was contained in an email to its customers yesterday night. 

    The notice signed by the Group Commercial Operations of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals and titled ‘Resumption Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales’, read: “Following the intervention of the Naira for Crude Technical Committee chairman, we are pleased to inform you of the resumption of the supply of PMS sales in naira commencing immediately.

    “You may kindly proceed to place your orders in naira for both self collection and free delivery of PMS to the earlier advised locations across the country.”

    Depots raise petrol price to N980 per litre

    Owing to PENGASSAN’s directive to its members to cut crude oil and gas supply to Dangote Refinery yesterday, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) increased their Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) petrol rate to N980 per litre from N880 per litre.

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) National President Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, broke the news to The Nation on phone.

    “The depot owners have started jacking up their prices. I learnt that they are selling PMS N970 to N980 from N870 and N880.

    “Formerly, it was N820 and N825, but now they are selling N870 to N880,” he said.

    The IPMAN boss appealed to PENGASSAN to consider the negative impact their actions would cause the economy and rescind the decision to stop crude and gas supply to the refinery.

    He described the supply from the refinery to the domestic market as huge, although he could not readily state the quantity and percentage.

    His words: “We are appealing to PENGASSAN not to cut the supply of crude oil and gas to Dangote because it will affect the economy.

    “We are appealing to them to look at another way of resolving their differences between the association and Dangote management.

    “This is because anything that will shortchange the economy is not good.

    “The supply of Dangote to the Nigeria’s market is huge. He is the key distributor of petroleum products in the country.”

    Similarly, the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) National Public Relations Officer, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said the industrial action will culminate in petroleum products scarcity.

    According to him, the masses will bear the pains of the refinery and union unrest.

    He said Dangote Refinery has been the sole supplier of petrol in the country in the last two months.

    The NOGASA spokesman said: “Definitely, it will amount to scarcity, so we want to appeal that the government should step in so that the masses will not suffer.

    “I don’t think there has been importation of products in the last two months. Dangote has been the one supplying the products.”

    On the other hand, however, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) National President, Dr. Billy Hary, said Dangote refinery supplies only 31 per cent of national consumption of the product.

    He said the petroleum products market has been on the downward trend in the last few weeks as the retail outlets are dry.

    He advised Dangote to settle its scores with PENGASSAN, stressing that it is harmful for the refinery to fight the government, International Oil Companies (IOCs) and stakeholders all within a year of operation.

  • FERA refutes PENGASSAN’s allegations against Dangote Refinery

    FERA refutes PENGASSAN’s allegations against Dangote Refinery

    …as independent investigation exonerates Dangote Refinery

    The Fair Employment Rights Activists (FERA) has dismissed claims by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) against the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

    PENGASSAN had alleged that the refinery terminated the jobs of more than 800 Nigerian workers and replaced them with 2,000 undocumented Indians.

    However, in a statement on Saturday signed by its president, Comrade Ebikeme Adigio, FERA said its independent investigation found no evidence to support the union’s allegations.

    “Our fact-finding mission revealed that expatriates at Dangote Refinery are fully documented, properly accredited and engaged for specialised roles,” Adigio said. 

    “There is no single proof that Nigerian workers were unlawfully replaced. On the contrary, the refinery has directly and indirectly created over one million jobs in less than a year. That is the truth PENGASSAN does not want Nigerians to hear.”

    The activist group went further, accusing some union leaders of lacking both the moral and legal right to challenge the operations of an investment that, according to FERA, is delivering where the union failed.

    “Osifo and Okugbawa represent the same structure that supervised the waste of over $4 billion on failed Turn Around Maintenance projects at Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries,” Adigio declared.

    “For decades, these men and their colleagues stood by while our refineries rotted away, workers were retrenched, and Nigeria bled under subsidy fraud. Now they rise to play saints? It is the height of hypocrisy. As Fela once sang, animals want to teach us human rights.”

    The group also alleged that some of union leaders personally benefited from the subsidy era and patronage appointments.

    “We all know that Festus Osifo’s children and cronies were comfortably placed in the NNPCL under Mele Kyari’s reign, feeding fat from subsidy fraud, while young Nigerians were forced into menial jobs in Ghana and Togo. Today, the same people want to lecture a refinery that is creating jobs and dismantling their corrupt pipeline of patronage,” Adigio declared.

    FERA argued that the real motive behind PENGASSAN’s attacks was to blackmail the Dangote Refinery and protect vested interests. 

    Read Also: Dangote Refinery, PENGASSAN clash over fate of 800 workers

    “What PENGASSAN failed to tell Nigerians is that their agitation is not about the welfare of workers but about losing control over a sector that they had weaponised for decades. Dangote Refinery is not bound to adopt the union’s corrupt style of business-as-usual, and that is what is making them restless,” the group stated.

    “They are not fighting for workers. They are fighting for a corrupt system that Dangote Refinery has disrupted. The union collects 3% of every oil worker’s salary in Nigeria, yet has not built one functional refinery, not even a small modular plant. If they truly cared about employment, why not buy the moribund Port Harcourt refinery and prove they can manage it?”

    On the contrary, FERA said Dangote Refinery has proven its commitment to workers and to Nigeria’s economy. It cited the rollout of 8,000 compressed natural gas buses, which it said instantly generated 16,000 jobs in a single day, as well as its broader impact across supply chains.

    “The Dangote Refinery should be celebrated, not vilified. It is fighting for the poor, ensuring we are no longer held hostage by subsidy cartels, and creating jobs at a scale Nigeria has never witnessed. PENGASSAN’s lies will not erase these facts,” Adigio said.

    The group also rejected the union’s threat to cut gas and crude supply to the refinery, describing it as “nothing short of economic sabotage.”

    “It is reckless for a union that squandered decades of goodwill to now threaten to strangle a national asset. This is not unionism; it is sabotage. Nigerians will not allow PENGASSAN to destroy what they never built,” the statement added.

    FERA urged government and regulators to resist PENGASSAN’s “blackmail and lies” and protect the refinery from vested interests. 

    “The truth is simple: PENGASSAN is angry because the party is over. Thanks to President Bola Tinubu, that corrupt regime has ended,” the statement added. 

    “If PENGASSAN is genuinely concerned about workers’ welfare, let them buy up the moribund Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, make them work, and employ as many Nigerians as they want. Until then, they should stop blackmailing an investor who is doing what government and unions failed to do for decades.”