In response to the purported dismissal of 800 employees who joined the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the organisation has threatened to protest the Dangote plant.
According to the association, the corporation hired more than 2,000 Indian citizens to replace the workers Dangote laid off on Thursday.
The Dangote refinery, however, claimed that just a small number of its employees were let off due to repeated instances of sabotage.
The company’s management told our reporter in a statement provided on Friday that this was a continuous restructuring that was required to protect the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage.
Earlier on Friday, a letter claiming that “all staff” had been fired for sabotage had appeared on social media.
The letter, titled “Reorganisation,” was sent to all refinery employees on Thursday. It stated, in part, that “the management is compelled to carry out a complete reorganisation of the plant due to the numerous recent instances of reported sabotage in various units of the petroleum refinery leading to major safety concerns.”
As a result of this development, we would like to notify you that, as of Thursday, September 25, 2025, your services are no longer needed.
Although PENGASSAN leaders stated that the workers were fired for joining the union, Lumumba Okugbawa, the group’s general secretary, claimed that 800 workers were fired for joining the union.
“When the witch cries in the night and the baby dies in the morning, what do you expect?” The letter didn’t specify that the workers’ termination was due to their union membership, but as of Thursday, the workers had actually finished the unionisation process as instructed by the Federal Government.
Thus, more than 800 people consented to join the union. After doing headcounts and learning that these men had joined voluntarily, the administration sent out the (sack) letter terminating all Nigerian employees.
They declared their intention to reorganise. Will the restructuring be carried out solely by the expatriates? In an interview with our correspondent, he said, “All 2,000 or more Indian expatriates were asked to keep working.
He said that the union may picket the refinery or stage a protest when asked what PENGASSAN would do, particularly since Dangote already had a court order preventing any blockade.
He went on to say, “We are just awaiting the National Executive Council.”
According to Okugbawa, the association advised the impacted employees to maintain their composure.
“We spoke with the impacted employees on Friday morning. We are in control of the situation; we advised them to hold fast. As always, we aim to address the concerns of the other stakeholders. We make an effort to help them see reason, but if they don’t, we’ll utilise every constitutionally granted power to help them see reason.
Nigerians are being fired while foreign workers, who are accomplishing little to nothing in comparison to Nigerians, are being kept on the job. That’s restructuring, right? “Let’s count our teeth with our tongues,” he remarked.
The scribe had earlier lamented the workers’ job termination in a statement.
He asserted that more than 2,000 Indians, many of whom had proper immigration paperwork, were chosen by the refinery to replace competent Nigerians.
He claims that the Dangote refinery violates Section 7 of the Labour Act, which forbids discrimination and guarantees the right to equitable treatment at work.
“The legal rights afforded to all Nigerian employees are violated when so many Nigerian workers are fired without enough consultation or clear explanation.
Furthermore, given the current regulations under the Trade Union Act, which upholds workers’ rights to organise and join trade unions, we will not put up with this flagrant disrespect for Nigerian workers’ rights. “These workers’ recent organisation as PENGASSAN members highlights their collective strength and legal right to protection,” he continued.
He demanded accountability from employers, emphasising that such activities demonstrated a concerning trend towards the marginalisation of Nigerian workers in favour of foreign labour.
The Dangote refinery’s management was encouraged by PENGASSAN to recall all of the Nigerian employees who had been fired.
We shall be forced to start looking at every portion of the Nigerian Constitution and the pertinent labour laws if we don’t comply. We are steadfast in our resolve to defend the rights of Nigerian workers, and as an association, we will pursue all available legal options to guarantee that they receive the respect and dignity they are due. To guide the association’s future, we have called an urgent National Executive Council meeting,” PENGASSAN said.
In response, the refinery explained that the fired employees had committed actions that had an impact on the plant.
“in the moment, more than 3,000 Nigerians are still actively employed in our petroleum refinery. We continue to hire Nigerian talent through our numerous graduate trainee programs and experienced hire recruitment procedures, so only a very small number of employees were impacted.
The business emphasised that it acknowledged and supported globally known labour standards, such as each employee’s freedom to choose whether or not to join a union.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to workers’ rights. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery was established to benefit Nigerians, increase Africa’s energy self-sufficiency, and generate good, long-term jobs. To maintain the greatest standards of safety, accountability, and transparency, we will keep collaborating with our stakeholders, workers, and regulators,” the statement read.
Members of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers recently closed the Dangote refinery due to claims that it prevented its tanker drivers from organising.
But since then, a court order has been issued to prevent unions from further obstructing the refinery.
