The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has directed its members across the country to withdraw their services following the alleged dismissal of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery.
In a circular issued after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2025, and signed by the General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation conventions by sacking workers for joining the association.
According to the NEC, the dismissed staff were replaced with “over 2,000 Indians,” describing the move as “an affront to all workers in Nigeria.”
To enforce its demands, the union ordered members in field locations to withdraw services from Sunday, with a total nationwide shutdown set to begin on Monday.
The circular stated: “All PENGASSAN members working across field locations are to withdraw services effective 06:00hrs on Sunday, 28 September 2025, and commence 24-hour prayers. This includes all control room operations, panel operations, and outfield personnel.
“All PENGASSAN members across all offices, companies, institutions, and agencies should withdraw all services effective 00:01 on Monday, 29 September 2025.
“No intervention whatsoever will be entertained across field locations except where the safety of personnel and assets is at risk; such clearance must be obtained from the National Secretariat.
“All processes that involve gas and crude supply to Dangote Refinery should be let off immediately. All IOC branches must ramp down gas production and supply to Dangote Refinery and petrochemicals.”
The NEC also announced 24-hour prayer vigils and called for government intervention, insisting that the strike would continue until the dismissed workers are reinstated.
“An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country,” the circular added.
The development is the latest in a series of disputes between Dangote Refinery and labour unions over workers’ rights and safety standards.
The clash escalated after the refinery, in a letter dated September 24, 2025, directed the dismissal of some employees over alleged sabotage that it claimed threatened the operational safety of the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility.
While PENGASSAN put the number of affected workers at about 800, the company denied carrying out mass layoffs, stating instead that it was undergoing internal restructuring to boost efficiency. It also insisted that the majority of its workforce remained Nigerian.
If fully enforced, the strike could disrupt supply to the refinery and trigger wider implications for downstream operations connected to the plant.