The Nigerian oil and gas sector is bracing for severe disruptions after the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) announced a nationwide strike in response to the alleged dismissal of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery.
In a circular signed by the association’s General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, and released after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2025, PENGASSAN accused the refinery of breaching Nigeria’s Labour Act, the 1999 Constitution, and conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) by sacking workers who joined the union.
The NEC further alleged that Dangote Refinery replaced the dismissed Nigerians with “over 2,000 Indians,” an action it described as “an affront to all workers in Nigeria.”
Strike Order Takes Effect
To enforce its demand, the union directed its members in field locations to down tools beginning Sunday, September 28, while a full nationwide shutdown across all offices, agencies, and companies will commence Monday, September 29.
The circular read in part:
“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, 29th of 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.”
The union also instructed international oil companies (IOCs) to cut crude and gas supply to the Dangote Refinery and its petrochemical plants.
Calls for Government Intervention
PENGASSAN emphasized the strike would continue until all dismissed workers are reinstated, declaring, “An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country.”
The development follows an earlier clash between Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) over labour rights and safety standards.
Dangote Refinery, in a September 24 letter, claimed the dismissal was tied to alleged sabotage threatening the safety of its 650,000-barrel-per-day facility, but PENGASSAN insisted no such sabotage occurred.
The company denied carrying out mass sackings, saying it was only restructuring to improve efficiency and that most of its staff remain Nigerians.
The strike, if enforced, threatens to cripple fuel supplies, disrupt downstream operations, and impact the wider economy.
okay.ng reports that stakeholders have urged the Federal Government to wade into the dispute before it escalates further.
