The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria confirmed the development on Friday. PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo said the union received the termination notice late Wednesday night . He assured that the union would secure the workers' recall.
The decision was communicated through a memo dated September 25, 2025, and signed by Femi Adekunle, the Chief General Manager of Human Asset Management . The memo stated the action was part of a "total re-organisation" of the refinery. It cited "many recent cases of reported sabotage in different units" that led to major safety concerns as the reason for the reorganization .
The directive ordered affected staff to surrender all company property to their line managers. It also instructed the finance department to calculate their benefits and entitlements .
However, a senior official from the refinery denied that this constituted a mass sack. The official described it as a reorganisation exercise aimed at curbing acts of sabotage within the plant . The official argued that the interpretation of the memo had been misrepresented. They insisted the action was not related to union activities but was a necessary step to safeguard the facility . The official suggested that the workers could be reabsorbed after the issues were addressed .
The timing of the terminations has intensified a simmering conflict between the refinery and oil unions. The move comes just hours after reports indicated that about 90 percent of the Nigerian workers had joined PENGASSAN . This has led to accusations that the company's action is a response to the workers' unionization.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers had recently declared a strike in solidarity with workers at the refinery. That strike was suspended after the federal government intervened . The refinery had previously secured a temporary injunction barring strikes by unions. That court order has since expired, raising concerns of fresh unrest in Nigeria's vital energy sector .
The Dangote Refinery is a landmark project for Nigeria. It started operations in 2024 with the goal of ending the country's long reliance on imported petroleum products . The 650,000 barrels-per-day facility is the largest of its kind in Africa. It has already begun to significantly reduce Nigeria's fuel imports . The current labor dispute introduces new challenges for the refinery. It faces operational turbulence and industrial disputes while trying to meet its production targets .
As of the time of reporting, a spokesperson for the Dangote Group had not responded to requests for comment . The situation remains fluid. The outcome of this dispute could have significant implications for labor relations within Nigeria's evolving oil and gas industry.
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