The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has threatened to picket the Dangote refinery over the alleged sacking of 800 workers who joined the association.
The association alleged that over 2,000 Indian nationals were recruited by the company to take over the jobs of those sacked by Dangote on Thursday.
However, the Dangote refinery said only a few of its workers were fired over repeated cases of sabotage.
In a statement made available to our correspondent on Friday, the management of the company said this was an ongoing reorganisation, which became necessary to safeguard the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage.
A letter had surfaced on social media earlier Friday indicating the sacking of “all staff” over sabotage.
The letter, titled, ‘Reorganisation’ and addressed to all staff of the refinery on Thursday partly read, “In view of the many recent cases of reported sabotage in different units of the petroleum refinery leading to major safety concerns, the management is constrained to carry out a total reorganisation of the plant.
“As a consequence of this development, we wish to inform you that your services are no longer required, with effect from the eve of Thursday, the 25th of September, 2025.
“Please surrender all the company’s properties in your possession to your line manager and obtain an exit clearance accordingly, but the date for doing so will be communicated to you later.”
However, leaders of PENGASSAN said the workers were sacked for joining the union.
The General Secretary of the group, Lumumba Okugbawa, alleged that 800 workers were sacked for becoming members of PENGASSAN.
“When the witch cries in the night and the baby dies in the morning, what do you expect?
“In the letter, they didn’t say it was because they joined the union. But as of Thursday, the workers actually completed the process of unionisation as directed by the Federal Government.
“So, over 800 agreed to join the union. The management went to do headcounts, and they found out that these guys voluntarily joined; the next thing we saw was the (sack) letter, firing all Nigerian staff.
“They said they wanted to reorganise. Is it only the expatriates that will do the reorganisation? All the over 2,000 expatriates from India were asked to continue with their jobs,” he stated in an interview with our correspondent.
Asked what action PENGASSAN would take, especially when Dangote already had a court injunction stopping any blockade, he replied that the union could picket the refinery or embark on a protest.
“We are only waiting for the National Executive Council,” he added.
Okugbawa stated that the association had told the affected workers to remain calm.
“We have engaged with the affected workers on Friday morning. We told them to remain steadfast; we are on top of the matter. We want to engage the other various stakeholders that are complaining as usual. We try to make people see reason, but if they don’t, we’ll use all the constitutionally given powers to do what we’ve got to do to make them see reason. In this Nigeria, you’re firing Nigerians and keeping expatriates to work – expatriates that are doing little or nothing compared to what Nigerians can do. Is that reorganisation? Let’s use our tongues to count our teeth,” he said.
