The Dangote refinery says the industrial action embarked upon by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) is aimed at weaponising hardship against Nigerians.
On Saturday, the PENGASSAN instructed its members to embark
on a nationwide strike immediately over Dangote refinery’s dismissal of “over
800 workers”.
In a statement on Sunday, the refinery said the union’s
directive was not intended to protect Nigerian workers.
The plant said the directive “to withdraw services and cut
off essential fuel supplies, is not about protecting Nigerian workers, but it
is about a cabal of oligarchs weaponising hardship against over 230 million
Nigerians”.
“In the process, it (PENGASSAN) cares little if at all about
the unbearable hardship and terror it would thereby inflict on all Nigerians,
including but not limited to the provision of essential services in our
hospitals and medical facilities, schools (nursery and right up to tertiary and
research institutions), emergency services, communications facilities,
transportation systems, etc,” the refinery said.
Dangote refinery therefore urged the federal government and
security agencies to intervene immediately to safeguard the facility and the
country’s energy security, insisting that the union should not be allowed to
“bully Nigerians into chaos and economic sabotage”.
The plant further accused the union of decades-long sabotage
of the country’s oil and gas sector and prioritising the interests of its
leaders over those of ordinary Nigerians.
According to the refinery, the union’s directive to cut
crude oil and gas supplies to its facility is “another act of economic sabotage
designed to inflict untold hardship on Nigerians”.
“Indeed, over time, the Association has consistently proved
itself as serving interests other than those of Nigerians and Nigerian workers,”
the statement reads
Dangote refinery recalled that in 2007, when the federal
government sold its moribund Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to Blue Star
Consortium, led by the Dangote Group, for $750 million, “it was PENGASSAN and
its ally, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), that
sabotaged the deal”.
“It is now obvious to everyone that the FGN’s decision at
the time was the right one and that PENGASSAN and NUPENG ignominiously wrote
their names on the wrong pages of history,” the company said.
“The refinery also faulted the union’s role in the
much-publicised rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery, describing it as
a “ruse” which PENGASSAN “knowingly celebrated despite being a scam on
Nigerians.”
The statement further accused the union of “opposing
amendments” to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that would have freed up
federal liquidity and attracted private-sector funding into Nigeria’s upstream
oil ventures.
‘PENGASSAN MISMANAGING BILLIONS OF NAIRA’
Dangote refinery accused the association of mismanaging
billions of naira in annual check-off dues to fund the “lavish lifestyles” of
its leaders, without accountability to members.
The refiner highlighted its record of economic contributions
within a short period, citing road construction, worker training, the creation
of thousands of Nigerian jobs, and a compensation structure that “outdistances
the best in the Nigerian oil and gas industry”.
On Friday, the union said the refinery laid off over 800
workers, noting that the group was working to “resolve” the issue.
Subsequently, the Dangote refinery confirmed sacking some
workers, saying that “only a small number were affected” in what it described
as a reorganisation exercise.
Following the announcement, PENGASSAN urged the management
of the refinery “to recall all terminated Nigerian workers”.
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