The recent sacking of workers at the Dangote Refinery has been linked to a WhatsApp group created by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
Sources familiar with the matter told this newspaper that trouble began when officials of PENGASSAN reached out to Dangote Refinery’s employees, inviting them to join the union and promising protection.
The sources said a WhatsApp group was created, where PENGASSAN officials shared forms with the refinery’s employees and requested daily reports on the refinery operations.
However, the sources claimed the group became a platform for sharing sensitive information about operations, which the management viewed as a breach of trust and a threat to the refinery’s operations.
While the refinery management maintains that the sacking was part of a total re-organisation exercise, sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the real reason was sharing confidential information with outsiders.
“What put them into trouble is a WhatsApp group. PENGASSAN reached out to them, asking that they join the union and that they would protect them. So, they now created a WhatsApp group, where they share forms to them, and ask them to send reports about what is going on in the refinery.
“So, they were sharing reports every day. That was how it leaked. The content that was going on in the WhatsApp group, and the information they were sharing is sabotage. That was how the Dangote people took action quickly,” the sources said.
The sack
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery recently terminated the appointments of some of its workers, citing repeated acts of sabotage that have raised significant safety concerns and affected operational efficiency.
A letter signed by the Chief General Manager, Human Asset Management at Dangote Group, Femi Adekunle, and sent to its staff members informed affected staff members that their services are no longer required, effective 25 September.
The company emphasised that the decision is not arbitrary but necessary to protect the facility and ensure its long-term stability.
“This exercise is not arbitrary. It has become necessary to safeguard the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage that have raised safety concerns and affected operational efficiency.”
It added that the decision was taken in the best interest of the refinery as a result of intermittent cases of sabotage in the various units of the refinery with dire consequences on human life and related safety concerns.
Following the sack, PENGASSAN asked its members to disrupt activities at the refinery by blocking the gas supply to it. The association said its decision was in response to the decision by the refinery’s management to sack some workers who are members of the union. It also accused Dangote refinery of spreading misinformation to justify its actions.
The union also directed its members nationwide to withdraw their services in protest against the alleged sack of Nigerian workers at the refinery from midnight on 28 September. It accused the management of the refinery of anti-labour practices and discrimination against local employees, prompting the federal government’s intervention.
In a swift response, Dangote refinery described the order as illegal and cautioned PENGASSAN to obey Nigerian laws in its operations, noting that PENGASSAN has no legal right to disrupt or interfere with the refinery’s contracts with third-party vendors for gas and crude oil supply.
The Dangote Refinery called on the federal government and its security agencies to intervene and call PENGASSAN to order, urging that the union’s actions are not only lawless but also have the potential to inflict significant harm on the Nigerian economy and citizens.
Last Saturday, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) called PENGASSAN to suspend its directive to cut off gas and crude oil supply to the Dangote refinery.
On Sunday, the federal government appealed to PENGASSAN to suspend its planned nationwide strike over its dispute with the Dangote Refinery.
In an appeal statement, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, said the ministry had already initiated moves to reconcile the parties to prevent the crisis from escalating.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that PENGASSAN, on Monday morning, shut down the major entry points of the NNPC Ltd, NMDPRA, and the NUPRC.
At the NMDPRA Headquarters gate located at the federal secretariat, this newspaper observed a banner with an inscription ‘Dangote Must Obey’, ‘Dangote is Not bigger than the country’, and ‘Dangote the Chief of lawless officer.’
On Monday, the National Industrial Court, Abuja, issued an interim order stopping PENGASSAN from continuing its nationwide industrial action against the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.
The court also restrained PENGASSAN from cutting crude and gas supply to Dangote Refinery.
On Wednesday, PENGASSAN suspended its nationwide strike against the Dangote Refinery after reaching an agreement with the management.
The agreement was reached following a reconciliation meeting between the parties facilitated by the Nigerian government.
The meeting initially ended in a deadlock on Monday night. It was scheduled to resume at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Abuja, and later moved to the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
PREMIUM TIMES understands that the parties reached an agreement in the early hours of Wednesday after negotiations.
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Agreement reached
After a lengthy discussion, the parties resolved that unionisation is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria and that this right should be respected.
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, and no workers will be victimised arising from their role in the impasse between Dangote and PENGASSAN.
