September 27, 2025
Following alleged recruitment of over 2,000 Indian nationals by the Dangote refinery to replace the 800 Nigerian workers that were sacked on Thursday, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASAN, has threatened to picket the Dangote refinery.
The Dangote refinery, has in response said only a few of its workers were fired over repeated cases of sabotage.
In a statement on Friday, the management of the company said this was an ongoing reorganisation, which became necessary to safeguard the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage.
However, leaders of PENGASSAN said the workers were sacked for joining the union.
The General Secretary of the group, Lumumba Okugbawa, alleged that 800 workers were sacked for becoming members of PENGASSAN.
READ MORE; Dangote Refinery Denies Mass Sack Of Workers
“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.
“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,” he stated in an interview with our correspondent.
On what action PENGASSAN would take, especially when Dangote already had a court injunction stopping any blockade, he replied that the union could picket the refinery or embark on a protest.
READ MORE; Aliko Dangote Accuses NUPENG Of Imposed Truck Charges
“We are only waiting for the National Executive Council,” he added.
Okugbawa stated that the association had told the affected workers to remain calm.
“We have engaged with the affected workers on Friday morning. We told them to remain steadfast; we are on top of the matter. We want to engage the other various stakeholders that are complaining as usual. We try to make people see reason, but if they don’t, we’ll use all the constitutionally given powers to do what we’ve got to do to make them see reason.
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,” he said.
