The $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery is experiencing a severe labour crisis as a result of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ordering its members from seven different oil and gas companies to stop supplying the enormous facility with gas and crude oil.
However, the refinery criticised the decision, calling it economic, criminal, and unlawful sabotage.
The 800 workers who were fired for exercising their constitutional right to join PENGASSAN, according to the union, are at the centre of the situation.
The refinery allegedly brought in illegal Indian expats to work in Nigeria’s delicate energy industry, according to the union.
Additionally, it accused the refinery of wage discrimination, exposing that Indian engineers were paid upwards of $5,000 (about N7.5m) per month, while Nigerian engineers received N385,000.
Shutdown of crude and gas
PENGASSAN issued a closure directive on Saturday for all of its branches in major oil and gas corporations, including TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, Renaissance, and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company, in response to the mass firing.
Lumumba Okugbawa, the union’s general secretary, gave the order to immediately cut off the Dangote Refinery’s supplies of petroleum and gas.
“The refinery’s crude oil supply valves should all be closed. Any vessel en route to the refinery should immediately cease loading operations. According to the document, “harm to one is harm to all.”
In order to discuss the next course of action, PENGASSAN also announced that it would call an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council.
According to union insiders, talks focused on the possibility of a statewide walkout in the event that Dangote does not reinstate the fired employees and correct the alleged injustices.
According to a top union official, “the union will have no choice but to act if they fail to reverse this barbaric action.” “This is about creating a precedent, not just about Dangote anymore.”
Although not directly involved in the conflict, it was learnt that the Nigeria Labour Congress was keeping an eye on events while waiting for the Trade Union Congress, to which PENGASSAN belongs, to formally respond.
The TUC President, Festus Osifo, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment were not available for comment.
Despite repeated calls and mails, officials either refused to reply or did not answer.
Dangote claims that PENGASSAN is planning a fuel crisis.
Dangote responded to the directive by accusing the union of conspiring to prevent Nigerians from obtaining cooking gas, diesel and petrol.
“The association’s directive amounts to economic sabotage at multiple levels, in addition to the lawlessness and criminality inherent in the PENGASSAN’s instruction to its branches,” the corporation stated in a statement on Saturday. To put it simply, PENGASSAN has instructed its branches to obstruct and terminate Nigerians’ access to petroleum products from the Dangote refinery.
The products that would be interrupted and prevented include, but are not limited to, cooking gas, kerosene, diesel, aviation fuel, and gasoline—all of which are necessary and used by Nigerians of all backgrounds, whether they are wealthy and powerful or poor and common. Under what circumstances would PENGASSAN be justified in causing such disruption and unbearable hardship to Nigerians’ living conditions? None that we can observe.
The command was characterised as a blatant act of criminality.
“PENGASSAN has no legal authority to order its branches to “shut off” the Dangote Refinery’s supply of petrol and crude oil, or to do so at all. Additionally, there is no legislation in our statute books that would allow or support the PENGASSAN chapters’ decision to stop providing Dangote Refinery with petrol and crude oil, or to do so at all.
Furthermore, it is illegal for PENGASSAN or any of its members to meddle in any manner with the agreement between Dangote Refinery and its many suppliers for the refinery’s supply of petrol and crude oil. The statement read, “The Dangote refinery entered into these supply contracts with third-party vendors and suppliers, not with PENGASSAN, and PENGASSAN has no right whatsoever to disrupt and/or interfere with the performance of those contracts.”
The management maintained that the law, not gang activity, governs Nigeria.
It might be necessary to remind PENGASSAN that Nigeria is a legally regulated nation. Self-help and mob action are prohibited by our laws because they have the potential to cause chaos and mayhem and quickly devolve into anarchy.
“It is instructive that when the association issued the aforementioned directive, it immediately abandoned the path of lawfulness and embraced criminal conduct and the path that leads to mayhem and anarchy,” the statement claimed.
PENGASSAN is “directing and intending to inflict such anarchic and criminal disruption upon the Nigerian society and persons living in Nigeria,” the Dangote refinery said, calling the directive economic sabotage against Nigerians and the state.
The refinery is a critical national asset that needs to be safeguarded, the business emphasised.
Additionally, this is multifaceted economic sabotage against the Nigerian government. Being the only refinery of its kind in Africa, the Dangote refinery ought to be the pride of the Nigerian government and all Nigerians. It does, in fact, qualify as a significant national asset and should typically have particular protection and status.
“Any damage to the Dangote refinery that cannot be repaired, as PENGASSAN has ordered, is a national disgrace to all of us. It said, “The directive is a disincentive to external investors who would have otherwise been encouraged to consider investing in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector or generally by the success of Dangote Refinery.”
The business stated that the Dangote refinery is one of the biggest providers to the government’s tax coffers, but that PENGASSAN was threatening to halt its contribution if the directive was put into effect.
The refinery urged the Federal Government and Nigerians to resist the move
“PENGASSAN has no right to bring chaos and chaos into our community. The association cannot be permitted to act or think that it is above the law because it is not. Additionally, we are urging all Nigerians to pay attention to the incalculable and irreversible suffering that PENGASSAN intends to inflict upon us all. The petroleum items that PENGASSAN has now ordered its branches to remove from the Nigerian market by fiat are used and necessary by every Nigerian home. Here are a few more: diesel, kerosene, petrol, cooking gas and aviation fuel.
If the PENGASSAN gang is allowed to carry out its illegal and lawless edict, Dangote Refinery will stop producing and supplying these goods. Nigerians cannot be treated unfairly by the association. Every Nigerian would be impacted and harmed by the PENGASSAN directive’s consequences. Thus, this is a battle for all Nigerians,” the statement continued.
Refinery backtracks on dollar payment for fuel
The refinery’s group commercial operations arm informed clients at approximately 6:42 p.m. on Friday that it will no longer be accepting fuel payments in naira starting on Sunday, September 28, 2025.
The email stated, “We are unable to sustain PMS sales in naira going forward because we have been selling petroleum products in excess of our naira-crude allocations.”
Consumers were instructed to wait for more information regarding the potential resumption of naira-based sales and to request refunds for ongoing naira transactions.
The Naira-for-Crude Technical Committee reportedly stepped in to resolve the issue.
The committee is chaired by Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
In a recent notification to consumers, the refinery verified that local currency sales had restarted and encouraged marketers to place new orders for free delivery at specified depots nationwide as well as self-collection.
We are happy to notify you that PMS sales in naira will resume immediately following the involvement of the head of the Naira-for-Crude Technical Committee.
The letter stated, “You may kindly proceed to place your orders in Naira for both self-collection and Free delivery of PMS to the previously advised locations across the country.”
