• Coalition Backs Company, Rejects DAPPMAN’s ₦1.5tn Subsidy Push
• PENGASSAN Summons Emergency NEC Meeting
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has refuted recent reports alleging arbitrary dismissals and anti-union practices at its Lekki facility, insisting that its ongoing reorganisation exercise is driven by safety and security concerns rather than labour suppression.
This was even as a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON) and the Nigerian Interfaith Forum (NIF) threw their weights behind the refinery, rejecting what they described as a plot by the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) to reintroduce fuel subsidy through the backdoor.
Meanwhile, the nation’s oil and gas industry may be thrown into another round of chaos as members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have raised the alarm over the alleged unjust termination of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery after 90 per cent of the workers reportedly joined the union.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s clarification follows reports of job terminations confirmed by oil workers’ unions, alongside accusations of poor labour practices.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) recently alleged that the refinery denied some categories of workers the right to unionise, while paying wages below industry standards. NUPENG went further to threaten strike action if the issues were not addressed.
But the company has clarified that its action was a response to “intermittent cases of sabotage in various units of the facility with dire consequences on human life and related safety concerns,” not an attempt to victimise staff.
“The Dangote Petroleum Refinery wishes to clarify recent reports concerning the ongoing reorganisation within its facility. 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,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
The company added that only a small number of employees were affected and confirmed that “over 3,000 Nigerians continue to work actively in our petroleum refinery at present.”
It also highlighted ongoing recruitment through graduate trainee programmes and experienced hire processes as evidence of its long-term employment commitment.
On the unionism debate, the company maintained that it upholds global labour rights, saying: “We recognise and uphold internationally accepted labour principles, including the right of every worker to freely decide whether or not to join a union. Our commitment to workers’ rights is unwavering.”
COCSON and NIF jointly accused DAPPMAN of pushing for a ₦1.505 trillion “backdoor subsidy” that would plunge millions of Nigerians deeper into economic hardship.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Abuja on Friday, COCSON President, Ibrahim Suleiman, and NIF Chairman, the Rev. Dr. Matthew Ayodele, said the demand, disguised as operational costs of ₦75 per litre, amounted to “economic sabotage” and “treachery against the Nigerian people.”
“Mothers are skipping meals, fathers are trekking long distances to save transport fares, and young people are losing hope as inflation bites,” Suleiman said. “At such a critical time, to ask Nigerians to underwrite inefficiency with ₦1.5 trillion yearly is wickedness. This is not subsidy — it is extortion.”
They accused DAPPMAN of deliberately undermining the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which they described as a “national asset and beacon of industrial progress.”
According to them, while Dangote Refinery exported over 3.2 million metric tonnes of refined products in just three months, DAPPMAN imported 3.6 million metric tonnes, allegedly promoting dumping and sabotaging local refining.
They recalled that at the commissioning of the refinery, Dangote was left with over 500 million litres of unsold stock as marketers allegedly refused to patronise him.
The groups argued that Dangote’s eventual decision to invest in over 4,000 trucks to distribute his own products was a direct response to ‘cartel sabotage,’ not an attempt to monopolise the market.
“Those who abandoned and strangled his refinery are now crying monopoly,” said Imam Musa Abdullahi, NIF National Secretary. “What they call monopoly is simply resilience and strategy.”
The coalition also warned that entertaining DAPPMAN’s demands would undermine President Bola Tinubu’s subsidy removal policy and damage Nigeria’s credibility before international investors.
PENGASSAN, in a statement on Friday, urged the management of the Dangote Refinery to recall all the terminated Nigerian workers, warning that failure to comply will leave the union with no option but to commence exploring all sections of the Nigerian Constitution and the relevant labour laws.
General Secretary of PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa alleged that Dangote, instead of valuing and retaining the workforce, chose to replace the qualified Nigerians with over 2,000 Indian workers, many of whom lacked valid immigration documentation.
He said the union stands resolute in its commitment to uphold the rights of Nigerian workers, threatening that it would take all necessary legal actions to ensure that they are afforded the dignity and respect they deserve.
Okugbawa disclosed that the association has scheduled an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on the matter.
