The Federal Government may have waded in to resolve the feud between the Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Federal Government may have waded in to resolve the feud between the Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN.
Towards this end, the Minister of Labour and Employment Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, has appealed to PENGASSAN to reconsider its proposed strike starting on Monday, September 29, 2025, over its dispute with Dangote Refinery, according to reports by Vanguard
The Minister has reportedly put everything in place for the warring parties to sheathe their swords in the interest of peace.
In line with the efforts, officials from the Ministry of Labour and Employment are said to be working to resolve the contentious issues amicably for a peaceful resolution of the crisis between the two parties.
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The moves by the Minister came as PENGASSAN has directed its members across the country to withdraw their services from 12:01 a.m. on Monday.
The decision was taken after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2025, following the alleged mass sack of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery.
In a statement signed by PENGASSAN’s General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery of unfair labour practices, including replacing the sacked Nigerians with over 2,000 foreign workers.
The union described the action as “an affront to Nigerian workers, a violation of Nigeria’s Constitution, labour laws, and international labour standards.”
To stave off the likely impacts of the action by the oil workers on the nation’s economy, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, has made a passionate appeal to the Union to shelve the proposed strike.
The Minister said his Ministry has taken steps to bring both parties to a roundtable to stop their dispute from escalating further.
Dingyadi disclosed that invitations have been extended to both the leadership of PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery management to attend an emergency meeting in his office on Monday for the conciliation of their dispute.
He called on the leadership of PENGASSAN to withdraw the strike declaration, allowing his Ministry to conciliate the dispute in a peaceful atmosphere.
Dingyadi, in a statement issued by Patience Onuobia, Head, Information and Public Relations of the ministry, said: “The Ministry of Labour and Employment, through the Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, has extended invitations to the leadership of PENGASSAN and the management of Dangote Refinery to attend a conciliation meeting in my office on Monday.
“I appeal to both parties to be mindful of the importance of the petroleum sector to the country, being the core of her economy. A strike will not only lead to heavy revenue losses by the country but also cause more hardship and difficulties for Nigerians. Consequentially, it will have adverse impacts, both on economic stability and national security.”
The Minister urged the feuding parties to give peace a chance, assuring them that the Federal Government would resolve the dispute amicably to the satisfaction of all the parties involved and in the national interest.
