The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has agreed to suspend its ongoing strike amid the escalating Dangote Refinery dispute, following decisive intervention by the Federal Government (FG).
The Dangote Refinery dispute erupted last week when PENGASSAN accused the refinery’s management of dismissing over 800 Nigerian workers for attempting to unionize, prompting the union to issue a nationwide strike directive on September 27.
This led to immediate actions, including the cutoff of gas supplies to the facility and withdrawal of services, raising alarms over economic fallout and energy security.
However, FG, in a mediation spearheaded by Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, convened emergency talks on September 29 and 30, bringing together union leaders, refinery executives, and high-level officials, including the National Security Adviser and the Minister of State for Labour.
Following FG’s mediation on the Dangote Refinery dispute, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, announced that the union was taking the “moral high ground” by bowing to government persuasion despite strong doubts about the sincerity of the Dangote Group.
Osifo stated: “We are only suspending, not calling off this strike.”
“If any part of this agreement is broken, we will not give any warning. We will immediately resume our suspended industrial action.”
He stressed that the industrial action was rooted in the fundamental right of workers to freedom of association, insisting that members joined the union “to secure better welfare and fair pay.”
According to him, PENGASSAN remains unsatisfied with aspects of the communique signed under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour, warning that the union’s patience should not be mistaken for weakness.
Osifo added: “Yes, we understand that Dangote does not respect the rules of engagement. Yes, we understand that Dangote wants to prove that he is always bigger than the rules and above the law. Yes, we understand that today, we still have some members working within the confines of the refinery.
“Yes, today, we still have some members working in some companies within the group. Yes, we know or we believe or we suspect that some of the things that the government has asked Dangote to do, that he’s going to slip in it and won’t do them just as he did to NUPENG. We have our suspicion.
“We truly don’t believe that he will keep to his own side of the bargain. We truly don’t believe that he will live up to expectations. We don’t believe. But because we have respect for institutions, because we have respect for government, because we have respect for processes, and because we have respect for procedures, and because of those in government who sat up till almost 4 a.m. this morning to try and resolve this subject, the NEC has decided to listen to them. Even with our mutual suspicion that Dangote will not do what is right, even with our misgivings that the document did not clearly represent what we have asked for.
“But even with the shortcomings in the document, the National Executive Council of PENGGASAN has decided that they will go ahead to take the moral high ground, that we will go ahead to prove to the government that we are extremely patriotic people, that love this country more than any single individual, that we will go ahead to suspend the industrial action that we started on Sunday, 28th day of September 2025.
“Remember, we are only suspending and we didn’t call off. We will be monitoring and following closely on any slip on the part of Dangote. If any part of this agreement, or any part of this communique as put up by the Ministry of Labour, is broken, we will not give any notice, we will not give any warning, and we will resume the suspended industrial action immediately.
“We have only suspended the industrial action in respect of the government of the land. As an institution, are we completely happy with what was provided? The answer for us is no.”
This comes after the Federal Government announced that it has been able to broker an agreement in the Dangote Refinery dispute.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, confirmed that Dangote will redeploy over 800 disengaged workers.
The Minister also announced that the redeployed staff will not suffer any loss of pay due to the redeployment.
He said: “After examining the procedure used in the disengagement of workers, the meeting agreed that the management of Dangote Group shall immediately begin the process of redeploying the disengaged staff to other companies within the Dangote Group, with no loss of pay.
“No worker will be victimised arising from their role in the impasse between Dangote and PENGASSAN.”
He further explained that both sides had reached a compromise, noting that “PENGASSAN agreed to start the process of calling off the strike. Both parties agreed to this understanding in good faith.”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the dispute began after PENGASSAN raised concerns over what it described as mass transfers and dismissals of union members by Dangote’s refinery management.
The union also accused the company of replacing some Nigerian staff with foreign workers, arguing that these actions violated labour laws and undermined local employment rights.
The refinery’s management, however, denied these allegations, stating that the workforce reorganization was due to operational requirements and not related to union activities.
The standoff took a massive turn after PENGASSAN announced its decision to halt gas and crude oil supplies to the refinery, raising alarm over potential disruptions to the nation’s energy supply and economic stability.
