The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has ordered its members to immediately cut gas and crude oil supply to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, escalating its confrontation with the company’s management over alleged anti-labour practices.
In a directive signed by the union’s General Secretary, Comrade Lumumba Ighotemu Okugbawa, branch chairmen in key oil and gas companies including TotalEnergies E&P, Seplat Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Renaissance, Chevron, Oando, Shell Nigeria Gas, and NGIC were told to shut crude oil valves, stop vessel loading operations, and cut off gas supply to the refinery without delay.
The union accused Dangote Refinery of disengaging workers who attempted to unionise, describing the move as “illegitimate” and warning that no amount of propaganda would cover up the violation of workers’ constitutional rights.
The statement read: “As you are aware, the Management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has disengaged our members in reaction to the exercise of their constitutional right to being unionized. 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. Consequently, you are hereby directed to cut off gas supply effective immediately. All crude oil supply valves to the Refinery should be shut, and loading operations halted.”
PENGASSAN further instructed its NGIC chairman to enforce a complete disconnection of gas supply to the refinery, demanding immediate compliance and progress reports from all affected branch chairmen.
The standoff emphasises mounting tensions between the refinery and labour unions, coming just days after reports that over 800 workers were sacked amid a bitter dispute over employment conditions.
Union leaders have vowed to resist what they call an “unjust and oppressive corporate agenda,” threatening wider solidarity actions if the refinery fails to reverse its stance on unionisation.