The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has threatened to picket the Dangote refinery over the alleged sacking of 800 workers who joined the association.
PENGASSAN alleged that over 2,000 Indian nationals were recruited by the company to take over the jobs of those sacked by Dangote on Thursday.
However, the Dangote refinery stated that only a few of its workers were fired over repeated cases of sabotage.
In a statement made on Friday, the management of the company said this was an ongoing reorganization, which became necessary to safeguard the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage.
A letter had been on social media earlier Friday indicating the sacking of “all staff” over sabotage.
The letter, titled ‘Reorganisation’ and addressed to all staff of the refinery on Thursday, partly read, “In view of the many recent cases of reported sabotage in different units of the petroleum refinery leading to major safety concerns, the management is constrained to carry out a total reorganization of the plant.
“As a consequence of this development, we wish to inform you that your services are no longer required, with effect from the eve of Thursday, the 25th of September, 2025.
“Please surrender all the company’s properties in your possession to your line manager and obtain an exit clearance accordingly, but the date for doing so will be communicated to you later.”
But according to PENGASSAN, the employees were fired for joining the union.
Lumumba Okugbawa, the group’s general secretary, said that 800 employees were fired for joining PENGASSAN.
“When the witch cries in the night and the baby dies in the morning, what do you expect?
“In the letter, they didn’t say it was because they joined the union. But as of Thursday, the workers actually completed the process of unionization as directed by the federal government.
“So, over 800 agreed to join the union. The management went to do headcounts, and they found out that these guys voluntarily joined; the next thing we saw was the (sack) letter, firing all Nigerian staff.
“They said they wanted to reorganize. Is it only the expatriates that will do the reorganization? All the over 2,000 expatriates from India were asked to continue with their jobs,” he stated in an interview with our correspondent.
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Speaking on what action PENGASSAN would take, especially when Dangote already had a court injunction stopping any blockade, he replied that the union could picket the refinery or embark on a protest.
“We are only waiting for the National Executive Council,” he added.
Okugbawa mentioned that the association had told the affected workers to remain calm.
“We have engaged with the affected workers on Friday morning. We advised the affected workers to maintain their composure, as we are actively managing the situation. We want to engage the other various stakeholders that are complaining as usual.
“We try to make people see reason, but if they don’t, we’ll use all the constitutionally given powers to do what we’ve got to do to make them see reason.
“In this Nigeria, you’re firing Nigerians and keeping expatriates to work—expatriates that are doing little or nothing compared to what Nigerians can do. Is that reorganization? Let’s use our tongues to count our teeth,” he said.
The scribe had earlier lamented the workers’ job termination in a statement.
He asserted that more than 2,000 Indians, many of whom had proper immigration paperwork, were chosen by the refinery to replace competent Nigerians.
He claims that the Dangote refinery violates Section 7 of the Labour Act, which forbids discrimination and guarantees the right to equitable treatment at work.
“The dismissal of such a significant number of Nigerian workers without due consultation or any transparent justification contravenes the legal rights granted to all employees in Nigeria.
“Furthermore, we will not tolerate this blatant disregard for the rights of Nigerian workers, particularly in light of the existing provisions under the Trade Union Act, which enshrines the right of workers to organize and join trade unions. The recent organization of these workers as members of PENGASSAN underscores their collective power and right to protection under the law,” he added.
He stressed that such actions illustrated a troubling trend towards the marginalization of Nigerian workers in favor of foreign labor, demanding accountability from employers.
PENGASSAN called on the management of the Dangote refinery to recall all terminated Nigerian workers.
“Failure to comply will leave us with no option but to commence exploring all sections of the Nigerian Constitution and the relevant labor laws.
“We stand resolute in our commitment to uphold the rights of Nigerian workers and will take all necessary legal actions open to us as an association to ensure that they are afforded the dignity and respect they deserve.
“We have scheduled an emergency National Executive Council meeting to direct the association on the way forward,” PENGASSAN stated.
