Reported by: Ime Richard Aondofa | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
The labour dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Dangote Petroleum Refinery has deepened, with the company withholding monthly salaries of engineers who were dismissed in September and declined redeployment offers. The move has reignited tensions in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, especially as the refinery is central to the nation’s ambition to reduce fuel import dependency.
According to multiple reports, Dangote stopped paying the affected engineers after many refused to accept postings to operations in Zamfara, Borno, Benue, Sokoto, and other states. Some of the proposed redeployment sites include a coal mining project in Benue, road-construction projects in Borno and Ebonyi, and rice-processing plants in states across the north and northwest.
A senior Dangote Group official told journalists that the company will not continue to pay workers who rejected alternative placements, arguing that the redeployment offer was intended to retain their employment within the group.
From the perspective of the affected engineers, the withdrawal of their salaries constitutes “victimisation.” They argue that the redeployment letters lacked credible details — there was no specific address to report to in the posted states, and their new roles were judged incompatible with their training as petrochemical/refinery engineers. Some also raised serious security concerns, describing the locations as “hot zones.”
This standoff is a continuation of a broader labour crisis that began in September 2025, when Dangote Refinery reportedly dismissed hundreds of Nigerian workers following their verification as members of PENGASSAN. The refinery management labelled the dismissals part of a “total re-organisation” meant to address alleged sabotage and safety risks. PENGASSAN, however, condemned the action as anti-labour and a violation of the workers’ right to unionise.
In response to the mass terminations and rising tensions, PENGASSAN ordered a halt to crude and gas supplies to the refinery — a move that threatened national fuel supply and power generation. The disruption caused a 16% plunge in Nigeria’s daily oil output, while gas cuts reportedly led to a significant drop in electricity generation.
The standoff drew government attention. In early October, a conciliation meeting convened by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment was held. The resulting communique stated that unionisation is a fundamental right under Nigerian labour law. The Dangote Group was instructed to redeploy affected staff to other subsidiaries of the group without loss of pay, and assured that no worker would be victimised. PENGASSAN agreed to call off its strike in the interim.
Despite these assurances, the recent salary freeze signals that the underlying issues remain unresolved. The management insists the redeployment offer remains valid for those who accept it, while many workers — guided by PENGASSAN — argue that the alternative placements are neither secure nor aligned with their professional qualifications.
Labour law experts warn that the withholding of salaries without clear contractual justification and credible redeployment terms may amount to unfair labour practice. They argue that the situation risks undermining workers’ rights and could provoke renewed strike action or legal challenges. Civil society organisations and labour-rights advocates have also urged the government to monitor compliance with the agreement and protect the rights of the affected workers.
Whether the current freeze will force a compromise or escalate into another nationwide crisis remains uncertain. What is clear, observers say, is that this dispute — between Africa’s largest refinery and its engineers — has national implications, not only for labour relations but also for energy security and investor confidence in Nigeria’s emerging industrial landscape.
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