A new wave of industrial unrest is brewing in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, following confirmation by the President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has dismissed all its Nigerian workers shortly after they joined the union.
In an exclusive interview on Friday, Osifo, who also serves as the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, confirmed the development and expressed confidence that the decision would be reversed.
“Yes, it is true. We saw the letter late last night (Wednesday),” Osifo stated. “I can assure you that they will recall all of them.”
This comes in the wake of an earlier New Daily Prime report revealing that the refinery, with a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, terminated the employment of its Nigerian workforce just 24 hours after 90% of them joined PENGASSAN.
As of the time of filing this report, the Dangote Group’s spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina, has yet to respond to enquiries regarding the mass termination.
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The incident marks a deepening of tensions between Dangote Refinery and labour unions, particularly in light of ongoing disputes over the right of workers to unionise. In recent weeks, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) also clashed with the refinery, prompting a strike that was later suspended following federal government intervention.
In a bid to suppress union action, Dangote Refinery had previously obtained an interim injunction restraining unions and their affiliates from embarking on industrial action. However, the order has since expired.
The unfolding saga has raised alarm among labour rights advocates, with growing calls for the federal government and labour authorities to intervene decisively. The mass dismissal, if left unaddressed, could have wide-reaching implications for industrial relations within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
