Monday, September 29, 2025 - The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has berated the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), accusing the union of decades-long sabotage of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and serving the interests of its leaders rather than ordinary Nigerians.
In a statement issued at the weekend,
the refinery described PENGASSAN’s latest directive to cut crude oil and gas
supplies to the facility as another act of economic sabotage designed to
inflict untold hardship on Nigerians.
“Indeed, over time, the Association
has consistently proved itself as serving interests other than those of
Nigerians and Nigerian workers,” the statement declared.
Dangote recalled that in 2007, when
the Federal Government sold its moribund Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to
Blue Star Consortium, led by the Dangote Group, for $750 million, it was
PENGASSAN and its ally, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers
(NUPENG), that sabotaged the deal. “It is now obvious to everyone that the
FGN’s decision at the time was the right one and that PENGASSAN and NUPENG
ignominiously wrote their names on the wrong pages of history,” the company
said.
The refinery also faulted the union’s
role in the much-publicised rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery,
describing it as a “ruse” which PENGASSAN “knowingly celebrated despite being a
scam on Nigerians.” The statement further accused the union of opposing
amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that would have freed up federal
liquidity and attracted private-sector funding into Nigeria’s upstream oil
ventures.
Beyond policy obstruction, Dangote Refinery accused the association of mismanaging billions of naira in annual check-off dues to bankroll the “lavish lifestyles” of its leaders, without accountability to members. By contrast, the refinery highlighted its own record of economic contributions within a short period, citing road construction, worker training, the creation of thousands of Nigerian jobs, and a compensation structure that “outdistances the best in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
”The Dangote Group is the highest employer of labor in Nigeria and the highest contributor to the tax revenues of Nigeria and its sub-nationals. What comparable social responsibility has PENGASSAN, with its billions of Naira in annual check-off dues and subscriptions, lived up to?” the statement queried, challenging the union to publish its audited accounts for the past ten years. “Can it publish publicly its account for the last 10 years and list out its corporate responsibility activities within that timeframe?”
The refinery insisted that PENGASSAN’s recent directive to
withdraw services and cut off essential fuel supplies, including but not
limited to petrol, diesel, kerosene, cooking gas and aviation fuel was
reckless, lawless and dangerous. It said the order is not about protecting
Nigerian workers, but it is about a cabal of oligarchs weaponising hardship
against over 230 million Nigerians.
“In the process, it (PENGASSAN) cares little if at all about
the unbearable hardship and terror it would thereby inflict on all Nigerians,
including but not limited to the provision of essential services in our
hospitals and medical facilities, schools (nursery and right up to tertiary and
research institutions), emergency services, communications facilities,
transportation systems, etc,” it said.
Dangote Refinery called on the Federal Government and
security agencies to step in immediately to protect the facility and the
nation’s energy security, stressing that the union must not be allowed to
“bully Nigerians into chaos and economic sabotage.”
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