Dangote Petroleum Refinery has condemned the strike declared by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and NUPENG, describing it as a “guerrilla tactic” designed to hold Nigerians to ransom. The management also challenged the two unions to publish 10-year audited accounts.
In a statement issued yesterday, the refinery dismissed as “tissues of lies” PENGASSAN’s claims of mass sack, which the union cited as justification for its strike directive. It described the action as “an act of terror” with the potential to jeopardize the lives and livelihoods of millions of Nigerians who depend on petroleum products for daily survival.
According to Dangote, the strike threatens the supply of kerosene, cooking gas, petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other essential products, putting infants, the elderly and hospital patients at risk. The company urged the Federal Government and security agencies to resist what it called PENGASSAN’s “blackmail tactics” and safeguard critical energy infrastructure.
“Assuming there are workers or ex-workers aggrieved with our decisions, they have remedies under their contracts,” the statement read. “PENGASSAN should not be allowed to interpose itself or incite employees. Its terrorist tactics must be defeated in the interest of over 230 million Nigerians.”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery also rejected claims that it sacked hundreds of Nigerian workers and replaced them with foreign staff, stressing that over 3,000 Nigerians remain actively employed while fresh talents are being recruited. It acknowledged an ongoing restructuring that led to the discharge of “a very small number of staff,” but maintained that the exercise was neither arbitrary nor targeted.
The management accused PENGASSAN and its ally, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), of playing disruptive roles in the past, including opposition to the 2007 sale of government refineries to the Dangote-led Blue Star Consortium, and celebrating what it called the “failed rehabilitation” of the Port Harcourt Refinery.
Describing the refinery as a “national asset,” Dangote Group said its operations are vital to Nigeria’s economic recovery and energy security, which must not be undermined by union actions.
The statement concluded with a direct challenge to both PENGASSAN and NUPENG:
“We challenge PENGASSAN and NUPENG to publish their respective audited accounts for the past 10 years within seven days, failing which they should bury their heads in shame.”
