The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has announced a nationwide withdrawal of services following the alleged sack of more than 800 of its members by Dangote Refinery.
In a statement issued on Saturday, September 27, 2025, with reference number PENG.47/IR-Int.000317/025, the National Executive Council (NEC) of PENGASSAN said the refinery’s action was a direct violation of Nigerian labour laws, the Constitution, and international labour standards.
The association stated, “That Dangote Refinery’s unilateral action to sack over 800 members of our Association for joining PENGASSAN is an affront to all workers in Nigeria and a deliberate violation of Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and ILO conventions.”
According to PENGASSAN, the refinery has subjected Nigerian workers to poor labour conditions and replaced them with foreign nationals. The NEC declared, “That 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. They have subjected Nigerians to the worst type of working conditions in the oil and gas industry.”
The union further argued that no individual or company should be considered above the law, noting that the decision had left hundreds of Nigerian families without livelihood. The NEC stressed, “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.”
As part of its resolutions, PENGASSAN directed all its members in field locations to withdraw services starting from 06:00 hours on Sunday, September 28, 2025. This includes all control room operations, panel operations, and outfield personnel.
It further instructed members across all offices, companies, institutions, and agencies to stop work from 00:01 hours on Monday, September 29, 2025. The association added that no intervention would be entertained at field locations except where safety of personnel and assets was at risk, and such clearance must come from the National Secretariat.
The NEC also ordered that all processes involving gas and crude supply to Dangote Refinery be discontinued immediately. “All IOC branches must ramp down gas production and supply to Dangote Refinery and petrochemicals,” the directive stated.
PENGASSAN called on members to engage in 24-hour prayers, seeking divine intervention. The statement said, “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.”
Reaffirming its stance, the NEC concluded, “No man is bigger than our country!! An injury to one is an injury to all.”