Respite at last as Dangote, PENGASSAN reach truce, strike to be called off, sacked workers to be recalled

The Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) early Wednesday morning reached a truce after several hours of gruelling negotiations overseen by federal authorities.

 

The development came after both parties agreed that the strike action embarked upon by the union will be called off immediately, while the sacked employees by the management of the $20 billion oil facility will be reinstated. However, they will be redeployed to other companies within the Dangote Group, reports ThisDay.

 

Those at the conciliation meeting were: The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Labour and Employment, Maigari Dingyadi; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment.

 

Others were the Director General, Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi; DG National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mohammed Mohammed and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, VAlso present or represented were: The Chief Executives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as well as representatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

 

A communiqué released at the end of the deliberations signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dingyadi, obtained by THISDAY, said that the meeting was sequel to the notice to stop gas supply to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and withdrawal of services by PENGASSAN.

 

At the two-day talks were also the top management of the Dangote Group and the President and Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo and Nuhu Toro, respectively and other top leadership of PENGASSAN.

 

“Whereas the leadership of PENGASSAN said that the directives given to stop the supply of gas to Dangote Petroleum and withdrawal of services was in response to the termination of appointment of over 800 members of PENGASSAN by the management of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical on the other hand, explained the reason for disengagement of the workers was as a result of the ongoing reorganisation in the company,” the communiqué stated.

 

It indicated that after lengthy discussions, the parties to the dispute agreed on several resolutions, going forward, which are expected to be adhered to strictly.

 

“After a lengthy discussion, the matter was resolved as follows: The Honourable Minister of Labour informed the meeting that unionisation is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria and that this right should be respected.

 

“After examining the procedure used in the disengagement of workers, the meeting agreed that the management of Dangote Group shall immediately start the process of taking the disengaged staff to other companies within the Dangote Group, with no loss of pay.

 

“No worker will be victimised arising from their role in the impasse between Dangote and PENGASSAN. PENGASSAN agreed to start the process of calling off the strike. Both parties agreed to this understanding in good faith,” the communique noted.

 

Earlier as of 12 midnight when THISDAY sought to know if any progress had been made in the talks, a source who was attending the meeting stated that although some of the knotty issues had been resolved, a number of them still remained untouched.

 

PENGASSAN had complained that the manner of the dismissal of 800 Nigerian workers by the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Company was not proper. For instance, the union accused the refinery of relieving the workers of their jobs for opting to join the association and also labeling them saboteurs.

 

Also yesterday, the Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Segun Ajayi, condemned the ongoing confrontation among the feuding parties, describing it as “unconscionable” and a dangerous signal to investors.

 

Speaking on Arise Television, Ajayi argued that no investor would commit billions of dollars to build a factory only to see it “decimated” by industrial disputes.

 

Ajayi argued that such disputes should be addressed through lawful processes, rather than by crippling the economy. The MAN DG urged government intervention to enforce court orders already in place and called for restraint from labour leaders.

 

While acknowledging Dangote’s refinery as a major “disruption” in the sector, Ajayi further insisted that negotiations, not threats, must guide resolution. “I think that governments should step in and we should ensure the rule of law. I’m told that there’s a court injunction and they should obey it.

 

“You cannot shut down an economy and you cannot disincentivise private sector investment. Because everyone is watching. How will anyone who sees what has been done to Dangote now want to come into this country and invest big? And that is what an economy like Nigeria needs.

 

“I believe that it is wrong and the labor unions should please keep their sword apart and let us have dialogue to be able to resolve the matter. There is no way you can browbeat organisations to do your will. I mean, it’s a disruption,” he stressed.

 

Besides, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, urged PENGASSAN to prioritise national interest in its dispute with the Dangote Group, warning that any strike at this sensitive time would damage Nigeria’s fragile economic recovery.

 

Umahi made the appeal during an inspection of Sections I and II of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Lagos, according to a statement in Abuja by his spokesman, Uchenna Orji.

 

The minister stressed that any industrial action would derail the progress the nation was beginning to record in all sectors.

 

In the same vein, several homes were thrown into darkness as the country’s power generation dropped a significant 1,000 megawatts (MW) arising from the strike action embarked on by the oil workers.

 

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), which is the manager of the power grid, yesterday announced a drop in power generation from over 4,300MW recorded in the early hours of Sunday to about 3,200MW at the lowest point.

 

The operator, in a statement, said the strike by PENGASSAN members within the gas supply chain triggered widespread gas shortages, leading to a generation shortfall on the national grid.

 

THISDAY’s analysis of the cost of the power generation loss showed that the 1,000mw lost to the strike action could power no fewer than 1.8 million homes and 9 million people at an average of five people per home, if each home consumes an average of 400kwh per month.

 

“NISO wishes to notify the public of recent major generation shortfalls on the national grid, caused by industrial actions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) within the gas supply chain.

 

“These disruptions triggered widespread gas shortages, reducing available generation from over 4,300MW in the early hours of Sunday, 28 September 2025, to about 3,200MW at the lowest point.

 

“In response, the NISO promptly deployed contingency measures to preserve the stability, security, and reliability of the national grid. Key interventions include hydropower optimisation, generation dispatch and load balancing, and voltage and frequency support,” NISO said in a statement issued to journalists.

 

The operator added that it applied selective load shedding as a last resort to avert a system-wide collapse and ensure fair power distribution.

 

These timely actions, it said, enabled the NISO National Control Centre (NCC) to minimise the impact of the labour-induced gas shortages, sustain operational security, and maintain supply to critical loads, thereby averting a nationwide blackout.

 

“The system operator reaffirms its commitment to proactive grid management, operational excellence, and the application of best-in-class practices to guarantee a secure and reliable electricity supply for the nation,” it added.

 

On Monday, PENGASSAN commenced its strike action as one of the measures to prevail on Dangote Refinery to reinstate the over 800 of its employees sacked in the course of the company’s reorganisation exercise.

 

PENGASSAN had instructed its members in key upstream and midstream oil and companies, including TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, and Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) to immediately cut off all crude oil and gas supplies to the Dangote refinery.

 

Besides, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed grave concern over the ongoing action by PENGASSAN, warning that action taken by PENGASSAN amounted to self-help and tantamount to economic sabotage capable of derailing the country’s fragile economic recovery.

 

The Director General of NECA, Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, expressed this concern yesterday and called on the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dingyadi, to arrest the deterioration in the country’s industrial relations system.

 

Oyerinde said that PENGASSAN’s escalation of this dispute into a strike that has disrupted critical operations across the oil and gas sector was tantamount to economic sabotage with far-reaching implications for our fragile economy.

 

“One acceptable characteristic of the labour and industrial relations ecosystem is the inherent nature of conflict, and also inherently built are frameworks to address it whenever it occurs. However, reckless actions that undermine lawful dispute resolution mechanisms, cripple enterprises, or jeopardise national assets are not acceptable globally under any known labour practice. Nigeria cannot be an exception.

 

“While we appreciate and understand the sensitivities involved in the issues, it is our firm position that any actions that tend towards crippling private enterprises or focused on incapacitating others from fulfilling legal contractual obligations or put the nation in jeopardy should be seriously and decisively dealt with within the ambit of current legal framework and relevant laws.

 

“NECA will not be a co-conspirator in the destruction or the undermining of the legal frameworks that guides and shapes the practice of industrial relations in Nigeria,” he said.

 

He emphasised that Nigeria has statutory and institutional frameworks designed to address industrial disputes, including the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) and the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN).