.jpeg)
The industrial dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has spiralled into a national crisis, with the refinery's operations reportedly coming to a halt following the union’s directive to cut off essential supplies. The confrontation began after the refinery terminated the appointments of over 800 Nigerian workers, a move the company attributed to an "internal reorganisation" necessary to combat "repeated acts of sabotage" that jeopardised the facility’s operational safety.
PENGASSAN, in response, issued a nationwide strike order, instructing its members across all oil and gas companies to withdraw their services and specifically demanding the immediate shutdown of crude oil and gas supply valves to the Dangote facility. The union alleged that the workers were sacked unlawfully in retaliation for exercising their constitutional right to join PENGASSAN and further claimed that the dismissed Nigerians were being replaced by over 2,000 foreign workers, mostly from India, in a "show of disloyalty" to the country.
In a highly charged statement, the Dangote Refinery management labelled PENGASSAN and its actions as "lawless and criminal", accusing the union of economic sabotage against the Nigerian state and of "serving oligarchs" who profit from the fuel importation market. The refinery insisted that its decision to reorganise was for the long-term stability and protection of the strategic national asset and that PENGASSAN's strike directive was illegal interference with its commercial contracts with third-party vendors. The company warned that the union's action, if sustained, would inflict "unquantifiable and irredeemable hardship" on Nigerians by disrupting the supply of essential petroleum products and causing a revenue loss to the government.
As the industrial action commenced, PENGASSAN reported that the $20 billion refinery plant had been "100 per cent shut down" as of Sunday, September 28, 2025. The strike action is set to escalate with a full nationwide shutdown by PENGASSAN members across various sectors scheduled for Monday, September 29, 2025. The escalating crisis has prompted immediate intervention from government authorities. The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) called on PENGASSAN to suspend its directive and appointed a sub-committee to mediate the crisis.