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.

PENGASSAN alleged that over 2,000 Indian nationals were recruited by the company to take over the jobs of those sacked.

According to The PUNCH, the General Secretary of PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, stated that the workers were sacked for becoming members of the union. “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.”

Okugbawa added, “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.”

In response to the allegations, the Dangote refinery stated that the sacking was due to repeated cases of sabotage. “The Dangote Petroleum Refinery wishes to clarify recent reports concerning the ongoing reorganisation within its facility. This exercise is not arbitrary. It has become necessary to safeguard the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage that have raised safety concerns and affected operational efficiency.”

The refinery also stated that over 3,000 Nigerians continue to work actively in the petroleum refinery, and only a small number of staff were affected. “Our commitment to workers’ rights is unwavering. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery exists to serve Nigerians, to strengthen Africa’s energy independence, and to create decent, sustainable jobs.”

PENGASSAN, however, maintained that the action was a blatant disregard for workers’ rights and demanded the recall of all terminated Nigerian workers. “Failure to comply will leave us with no option but to commence exploring all sections of the Nigerian Constitution and the relevant labour laws. We stand resolute in our commitment to uphold the rights of Nigerian workers and will take all necessary legal actions open to us as an association.”

Okugbawa stated that PENGASSAN could picket the refinery or embark on a protest, saying, “We are only waiting for the National Executive Council.” He added, “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.”