Samuel Omang
Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is bracing for a fresh round of disruption as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) declared a nationwide strike against Dangote Refinery.
The decision, announced after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Saturday, September 27, came in response to what the union described as the “unjust dismissal” of more than 800 Nigerian workers. According to PENGASSAN, the refinery replaced the sacked staff with “over 2,000 Indians,” a move the union says violates labour laws, the Constitution, and international conventions.
From the tone of the NEC circular, signed by General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN is leaving nothing to chance. Field operators were told to withdraw their services from early Sunday morning, while a complete nationwide shutdown across all offices, companies, institutions, and agencies is scheduled to begin from the first minute of Monday, September 29.
The strike order is sweeping. Control room operations, panel operations, outfield personnel, and all processes involving gas and crude supply to the Dangote Refinery are to be halted. International Oil Companies have also been instructed to scale down production and cut supply links to the plant.
Beyond industrial action, PENGASSAN has invoked symbolism. The NEC called for 24-hour prayer vigils across branches, describing the crisis as one of urgent national importance. “An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country,” the circular declared.
But Dangote Industries Limited is pushing back. Management insists there was no mass sacking, only an internal restructuring aimed at improving efficiency. It also stressed that the majority of its workforce remains Nigerian, despite the union’s allegations.
The standoff now sets the stage for a potentially bruising confrontation. The Dangote Refinery, a 650,000-barrel-per-day facility regarded as Africa’s biggest industrial project, sits at the heart of Nigeria’s energy ambitions. Any prolonged shutdown risks disrupting fuel supplies, destabilising downstream operations, and triggering ripple effects across the economy.
For PENGASSAN, the matter goes beyond a labour dispute. It is about asserting dignity for Nigerian workers in a project often held up as a symbol of national pride. For Dangote, it is a fight to maintain operational control of an enterprise that has already attracted global attention.
What happens in the coming days could determine not only the immediate fate of the refinery but also the balance of power between Nigeria’s most influential labour unions and Africa’s richest businessman.