Dangote/PENGASSAN face-off: Oil workers to begin strike Monday

• Depots raise price to N980 from N880

Oil workers under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has directed all its members in the country to withdraw their services within 24 hours. The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of all its branches which lasted late into the night on Saturday.
The strike order follows the recent sack of 800 workers by the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals.
As at yesterday, following the dispute and threats by oil workers, 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 action as also been deemed as an act of “economic sabotage” and threat to the country’s energy security by public sector analyst and economists
The labour directive was contained in a communique signed by PENGASSAN’s General Secretary, Comrade Lumumba Okugbawa. The union lamented that Dangote Refinery’s unilateral action to sack over 800 members of the Association for joining PENGASSAN was an insult to all workers in Nigeria and a deliberate violation of Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.
The Union, in the communique, noted said: “Dangote Refinery’s notoriety for enslaving Nigerian workers and the eventual sack of all Nigerians working in the refinery and hiring of over 2,000 Indians, is a show of disloyalty to a country that has given him the most incentives any company has ever enjoyed in Nigeria, at taxpayers’ expense.”
The oil workers said the company has subjected Nigerians to the worst type of working conditions in the oil and gas industry.
The communique stated further: “That no man or company, no matter how highly placed, is above the law and cannot be called to order by the national institutions.
“That the over 800 staff whose jobs have been given to Indians and their families are Nigerians and victims was made to suffer unjustly and there is an urgent need to avoid setting a dangerous precedence.
“The National Executive Council (NEC) of PENGASSAN resolves that all its members working across field locations are to withdraw services effective 06:00hrs on Sunday, 28th of September, 2025 and commence 24-hour prayers. This includes all control room operations, panel operations, and outfield personnel.
It said: “All PENGASSAN members across all offices, companies, institutions, and agencies should withdraw all services effective 00:01 on Monday, 29th of September, 2025”.
The oil workers said no intervention whatsoever will be entertained across field locations except where the safety of personnel and assets is at risk.
“All processes that involve gas and crude supply to Dangote Refinery should be let off effectively immediately.
“All IOC branches must ramp down gas production and supply to Dangote Refinery and petrochemicals.
“The prayer point should include a call to God Almighty to give courage to those in authority to rein in Dangote and his co-travelers on the need to obey the laws of our country, “it added.Consequently, depot 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, in a chat with The Nation, confirmed the increased depot price of the commodity.
“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.
“We are appealing to PENGASSAN not to cut the supply of crude oil and gas to Dangote because it will affect the economy and also reconsider their strike declaration.
“We are appealing to them to look at another way of resolving their differences with 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,” Maigandi said.
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, insisting that 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.
“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,” Ukadike said.
But the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) National President, Dr. Billy Hary, advised Dangote Refinery management 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.