Efforts by the federal government to broker peace between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Dangote Refinery over a bitter labour dispute broke down late Monday, with no agreement reached and talks adjourning shortly after midnight.
Originally slated to begin at 2:00 p.m., the meeting was delayed due to the late arrival of key participants and only got underway around 3:50 p.m. The session, which included top officials from PENGASSAN, Dangote management, the Ministry of Labour (led by Muhammad Dingyadi), the Ministry of Finance, and representatives from NUPRC and NMDPRA, extended into the early hours without yielding a consensus. Minister Dingyadi, at the meeting’s opening, emphasized the importance of resolving the impasse to avert broader disruption to the populace.
The conflict centers on PENGASSAN’s backlash against the alleged dismissal of union members by Dangote Refinery. In response, the union ordered a nationwide withdrawal of services beginning midnight on 28 September and threatened to block gas and crude oil supply to the plant. PENGASSAN framed its action as a response to what it described as anti-labour practices and discriminatory treatment by the refinery’s management.
Dangote’s management, for its part, condemned the disruption and emphatically rejected the union’s demands, asserting that PENGASSAN lacks the legal authority to halt contractual supply arrangements. The company appealed to both the government and security agencies to restrain the union’s efforts, warning of serious economic fallout.
Prior to the meeting, the National Industrial Court, Abuja, issued an interim order restraining PENGASSAN from executing its plan to cut off gas and crude supply to the refinery. The House of Representatives’ committee on Petroleum Resources also stepped in, calling on the union to retract its directive. Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed its affiliate bodies to mobilize in solidarity with PENGASSAN.
According to insiders, talks are expected to resume at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 30 September, in a renewed attempt to break the deadlock. However, the stakes are high. A failure to reach a compromise may trigger wider industrial action, with implications for the stability of operations at one of Nigeria’s largest refinery complexes.
