Some engineers recently dismissed by the Dangote Refinery for allegedly joining the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria have criticised the company’s plan to redeploy them to other subsidiaries, including its sugar and cement plants.

Speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue, the affected workers accused the company of targeting them for union membership, according to The Punch.

However, the Dangote media team denied the allegations on Wednesday, insisting that several PENGASSAN members remain employed at the refinery.

Last week, PENGASSAN shut down oil and gas operations nationwide from Sunday to Tuesday, protesting the alleged dismissal of about 800 refinery workers who volunteered to join the union.

The Dangote Refinery, however, stated that it dismissed only a few employees accused of sabotaging operations, describing the action as part of an internal reorganisation.

The dispute prompted oil and gas workers to embark on a strike in solidarity with their colleagues, resulting in losses in production and a decline in power generation nationwide.

Peace was eventually restored following the intervention of the Federal Government, which directed the Dangote Group to reinstate and redeploy the affected workers.

The affected workers said on Tuesday that they had yet to be recalled or redeployed despite earlier assurances.

Sources within the Dangote Group had said that the company planned to redeploy the engineers to its sugar and cement subsidiaries.

It was also gathered that new engineers would be recruited to replace those reassigned, a move described as a potential loss to the refinery.

Further findings revealed that some of the 800 dismissed workers might be redeployed to other Dangote operations outside Nigeria.

The affected workers, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the plan, insisting it was unfair to transfer them outside the refinery.

They explained that their appointment letters clearly stated that they were employed by the Dangote Refinery, not the Dangote Group, and questioned the rationale behind redeploying petrochemical engineers to facilities such as sugar plants where their expertise would be irrelevant.

“It is victimisation. How will you redeploy us from the refinery to sugar or cement plants? It is not fair. Most of us weren’t employed by the Dangote Group; we were employed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals. If we were employed by the Dangote Group, we would know that we could be redeployed from one unit to another. This is like victimising us. Some of us are petrochemical engineers; how do you want them to cope? It is affecting some of us psychologically,” they said.

The engineers said they had been at home since September 25, when the company issued a notice terminating all staff appointments, even though management later claimed that only a few workers were dismissed for sabotage.

According to them, about 800 employees were instructed to stay away from work pending their redeployment. They added that previous attempts to access the refinery were blocked by security personnel stationed at the facility’s gate.

“Currently we are at home; we are not allowed to go into the refinery. The management said they would get back to us as far as the redeployments are done, but we have not heard anything so far. There were times when we tried to enter the refinery, but we were sent back. There are pictures of those incidents,” they said.

The sources alleged that Indian nationals are currently the only ones operating the refinery, claiming that all Nigerian engineers were sent home after joining the union.

“At the moment, only Indians are running the refinery. All Nigerian engineers were sacked because we joined PENGASSAN,“ they alleged.