Nigeria’s oil and gas sector faces a fresh shutdown as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) declares an indefinite nationwide strike over what it describes as the illegal dismissal of more than 800 Nigerian workers by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
In a circular issued after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2025, and signed by General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions by allegedly sacking workers for joining PENGASSAN.
The NEC claimed the refinery replaced the affected Nigerians with “over 2,000 Indians,” calling the move “an affront to all workers in Nigeria.”
“All PENGASSAN members working across field locations are to withdraw services effective 06:00hrs on Sunday, 28 September, and commence 24-hour prayers. This includes all control room operations, panel operations, and outfield personnel,” the union’s directive stated.
The circular further ordered members in all offices, companies, institutions, and agencies to withdraw services from 00:01 on Monday, September 29, signalling a total nationwide shutdown. It also instructed International Oil Companies (IOCs) to ramp down gas production and halt crude supply to the refinery and its petrochemical units.
PENGASSAN called on the federal government, labour unions, and key stakeholders to intervene immediately, warning that the strike will continue until all dismissed workers are reinstated.
“An injury to one is an injury to all. No man is bigger than our country,” the NEC declared.
The industrial face-off follows a September 24 letter from Dangote Refinery ordering the dismissal of some staff over alleged acts of sabotage that management claimed threatened the safety of the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility.
While PENGASSAN puts the number of affected workers at about 800, the refinery has denied carrying out any mass sack, insisting its recent staff reorganisation targeted only a small number of employees to address critical safety issues.
