By Oluwabukunmi
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has suspended its nationwide strike against the Dangote Petroleum Refinery following the intervention of the Federal Government.
The suspension was announced on Wednesday in Abuja by the union’s president, Festus Osifo, after marathon negotiations with government officials and representatives of the refinery that stretched into the early hours of the day.
The strike, which began on Sunday, September 28, over alleged anti-union practices at the multi-billion-dollar refinery, had disrupted parts of Nigeria’s oil and gas operations before the truce was reached.
Osifo said the union decided to suspend — not call off — the industrial action out of respect for the government and institutions that brokered the talks. He, however, warned that PENGASSAN retained the right to resume the strike without notice if the agreement was violated.
“We are only suspending, not calling off this strike,” Osifo said. “If any part of this agreement is broken, we will immediately resume our suspended industrial action.”
He stressed that the dispute was rooted in workers’ fundamental rights to freedom of association and fair pay. The union, he added, remained unsatisfied with parts of the communique signed under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour, accusing the Dangote Group of a history of disregarding agreements with oil unions.
“Yes, we suspect that Dangote will not keep to his side of the bargain, just as he did with NUPENG,” Osifo stated. “But because we respect institutions and the government officials who stayed up till 4 a.m. to resolve this matter, we have chosen the moral high ground to suspend the action.”
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, commissioned in 2023 with a projected capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has faced repeated clashes with oil sector unions over alleged anti-union practices. Its sister union, NUPENG, has also raised similar concerns against the conglomerate.
PENGASSAN said it would closely monitor compliance with the new agreement, warning that its patience should not be mistaken for weakness.
