The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned that it will not hesitate to escalate actions if Dangote Refinery fails to honour commitments reached with the Federal Government in resolving recent disputes over the termination of workers.
The union, which suspended its nationwide strike earlier this week, said it placed the welfare of affected families and the rights of oil sector workers at the centre of its demands.
PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, speaking on Channels Television on Thursday, stressed that the association was prepared to use “every available instrument” to defend members if government interventions do not yield fair outcomes.
According to Osifo, PENGASSAN agreed to call off its strike after receiving assurances from senior government officials that the dispute would be resolved justly. He said the Ministry of Labour had intervened with a communique aimed at enforcing a settlement, but the union remained sceptical of Dangote Industries’ willingness to abide by the resolutions.
“Do we have our suspicion? The answer is yes. Do we truly believe that he is going to do what is right? The answer is no, because they have a serial history of breaking agreements,” Osifo declared.
The labour leader emphasised that while the association has confidence in government mediators, it will not fold its arms if promises are breached. “PENGASSAN has been around before Dangote Industries were founded. We have been around for close to 50 years now, so for us, we are not perturbed in any way. Our tools are still available — our tools of negotiation, our tools of discussion, and our tools to take it to the maximum level,” he said.
Osifo added that the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union had resolved to give the Federal Government time to enforce the assurances but reiterated that workers’ welfare remained paramount. “It is not about PENGASSAN; it is about the workers, the Nigerians, that were abruptly terminated because they were exercising their freedom of association,” he stated.
He stressed that the union’s priority was safeguarding the lives and rights of affected families, noting that PENGASSAN would closely monitor how the government implements its commitments. “We still have the tools of negotiation and discussion, but if it becomes necessary, we will take it to the maximum level,” he added.
The warning comes amid rising tension in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, with unions increasingly pressing for stronger labour protections. Industry analysts say the standoff between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN could set a precedent for labour relations in the country’s emerging refining sector, where issues of unionisation and fair labour practices remain contentious.
