The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has assured Nigerians that its planned nationwide strike, set to commence on Monday, will not affect the supply of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) across the country.
PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, gave the assurance during an appearance on Politics Today, aired on Channels Television on Sunday. He clarified that while the union had instructed its members to withdraw services from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in protest over the alleged unjust dismissal of 800 workers, the action would not disrupt petrol distribution.
“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 any disruption in fuel supply because our members don’t control the tanker drivers,” Osifo said.
The labour leader accused Aliko Dangote, chairman of the refinery, of economic sabotage through arbitrary and unlawful dismissals.
“The person sabotaging the Nigerian economy is Dangote and his co-travellers. He is the greatest saboteur of the Nigerian economy. If Dangote calls back the people he sacked today, normalcy will return immediately,” he declared.
While confirming that all PENGASSAN members have been withdrawn from operations at the $20 billion refinery, Osifo noted that other supply lines would remain operational unless safety concerns necessitated further action.
“We are not cutting supply to other services as of today, except when there is a need to ensure safety. But we have withdrawn all our members from Dangote operations. The President of Nigeria should call Dangote to order. He is not bigger than the country or the constitution,” he added.
Osifo also confirmed that the Federal Ministry of Labour had invited the union to a meeting to resolve the crisis, but maintained that the strike would proceed until the sacked workers were reinstated.
The standoff, which escalated on Saturday, 27 September 2025, has raised serious concerns about stability in the oil and gas sector, and the possible knock-on effects on the national grid. PENGASSAN had earlier directed seven of its branches across major upstream and midstream companies—including TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company—to halt crude oil and gas supplies to the Dangote facility.
The union alleged in a letter dated 26 September that the mass sackings were in retaliation for workers exercising their constitutional right to freedom of association. It has since labelled the refinery’s actions as anti-labour and unlawful under both domestic and international labour conventions.
