Caution PENGASSAN over Dangote refinery dispute, consumers urge FG
By Jeffrey Agbo
The standoff between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) escalated on Sunday, as the Forum of Concerned Nigerian Consumers called on the Federal Government and the Department of State Services (DSS) to intervene in what it described as “desperate attempts” to sabotage the $20 billion facility.
At a press briefing in Abuja, Forum President Olabisi Taiwo accused the oil workers’ union of politicising Nigeria’s fragile energy sector with its threat to picket the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery over alleged mass sackings.
“The government must send a clear message: industrial blackmail will not be tolerated. The Dangote Refinery is our best chance at energy independence, and we must not allow vested interests to destroy it,” the forum declared.
“They resisted reforms, blocked privatisation, and crippled fuel supply with strikes. Their actions contributed to the rot that turned these refineries into relics of corruption and mismanagement.”
The forum warned that the planned strike could plunge the country back into fuel scarcity and economic instability.
PENGASSAN, however, insists that Dangote management violated labour laws, the constitution, and International Labour Organisation conventions by allegedly dismissing about 800 workers for joining the union. In a circular signed by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, the union directed members nationwide to withdraw services beginning Monday.
“An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country,” the circular stated.
Dangote Refinery management has denied anti-labour motives, attributing recent restructuring to “acts of sabotage” threatening operations. The company currently employs more than 3,000 Nigerians.
The Forum, meanwhile, accused the union of defying a subsisting court order against industrial action, calling it “union overreach” and a violation of the rule of law.
“Who benefits if the refinery fails?” the forum asked. “Certainly not the Nigerian people, but fuel importers and rent seekers who profit from chaos.”
It also criticised what it described as PENGASSAN’s inflammatory rhetoric, warning that Nigerians cannot afford another cycle of fuel queues and economic hardship.
The group appealed to the Ministries of Labour, Petroleum Resources, and Justice to intervene urgently to prevent disruptions at the refinery.
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