The National Industrial Court in Lagos has annulled the September 16, 2025 election of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) Chevron branch and ordered the conduct of a fresh poll within 30 days.
The court directed the South-West Zonal Director of Labour, Federal Ministry of Labour, Lagos, to oversee the new election and submit a compliance report within seven days after the exercise.
Justice Joyce A. O. Damachi, who delivered the judgment on August 10, 2026, also voided several decisions taken by PENGASSAN’s Central Working Committee concerning the Chevron branch.
The court ruled that the dissolution of the branch’s elected executive bodies in October 2024 was invalid because the procedure required under the union’s constitution was not followed. It also nullified the eight-member caretaker committee appointed to run the branch.
According to the judgment, PENGASSAN’s constitution permits a maximum of five members on such a caretaker committee and limits its tenure to three months.
The court further upheld the Chevron branch bye-laws adopted in 2017 and reviewed in 2022. It declared the National Secretariat’s attempt to revoke the bye-laws in July 2025 invalid.
The election guidelines issued by the national leadership in July 2025 were also declared unconstitutional and inapplicable to the Chevron branch.
Consequently, the court set aside the September 2025 election and all offices and actions resulting from it.
Justice Damachi said the union’s constitution constituted the binding framework governing its members and required strict adherence to due process before elected branch executives could be removed.
The court also faulted the dissolution process because the National Executive Council’s approval, which was required under the union’s constitution, was obtained only after the branch executives had already been removed.
The judgment followed a case filed by seven members of the Chevron branch against PENGASSAN, its National President, Festus Osifo, General Secretary, Lumumba Ignothemu Okugbawa, and members of the caretaker committee.
One of the claimants and former Trade Union Congress secretary in Delta State, Ete Oyegbanren, welcomed the judgment, saying efforts had begun to implement the court’s directives.
Oyegbanren said members planned to hold a fresh election on August 18, adding that the objective was to restore what he described as constitutional order within the union.
He accused the national leadership of disregarding the association’s constitution and said the aggrieved members would continue working within PENGASSAN to reform the union.
Other former union officials and members also described the judgment as a major victory. Former National Public Relations Officer, Kings Udoidua, alleged that the union had experienced unprecedented violations of its constitution under the current leadership.
Former NNPC Exploration and Production Limited branch chairman, Peter Asemota, also criticised what he described as excessive control by the national leadership.
More than 100 PENGASSAN members reportedly participated in a virtual meeting where they discussed the judgment and called for greater adherence to the union’s constitution.
The court additionally awarded N1 million in costs against PENGASSAN in favour of the claimants.
The ruling comes amid other legal disputes involving PENGASSAN branches, including a January 2026 decision by the Industrial Court in Abuja which overturned the suspension of some NMDPRA branch members and ordered the dissolution of a caretaker committee established by the union’s Central Working Committee.
