Dangote Group to Redeploy Sacked Refinery Engineers, Begin Fresh Recruitment Amid Union Dispute

The Dangote Group has announced plans to redeploy refinery engineers recently dismissed for joining the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to its sugar and cement plants as part of a broader restructuring effort.

Reliable sources within the refinery confirmed that while some of the affected engineers will be reassigned to Dangote’s local operations, others may be deployed to its subsidiaries abroad. The company is also preparing to recruit new engineers to fill the resulting vacancies.

The development follows a nationwide industrial action by PENGASSAN, which shut down oil and gas facilities between Sunday and Tuesday in protest against the alleged sacking of 800 refinery workers. The strike caused disruptions in oil production and a drop in national power generation before the Federal Government intervened.

Dangote Group, however, denied the mass dismissal claims, insisting that only a few employees were terminated for “acts of sabotage” and leaking sensitive operational information. A senior company official explained that while the firm respected workers’ rights to unionize, it would not condone internal sabotage that could endanger multi-billion-dollar operations.

“The affected engineers will be redeployed across Dangote’s sugar, cement, and other business units. Some were among the first batch trained abroad and played key roles in commissioning the refinery. Their reassignment is painful but necessary,” the source said.

He noted that the decision came at a significant cost to the company, given the heavy investment made in training the young engineers. “You can’t put a price on the kind of experience they gained. These are Nigerian engineers who took part in building one of the world’s largest refineries. However, a refinery allows little room for error; the stakes are too high,” he added.

Some industry insiders revealed that a few of the engineers had already been approached by international firms due to their expertise.

Addressing claims of pay disparity between Nigerian and expatriate workers, a consultant to the refinery explained that salary variations were standard in early-stage industrial setups. “It’s common practice to hire the best global hands initially, then transition to local expertise over time,” the consultant said, emphasizing that refineries operate differently from upstream oil companies in terms of pay structure.

According to another company source, redeployment arrangements are already in progress and will be completed on a case-by-case basis. “The reinstated workers will resume new roles across the Dangote Group’s facilities in Nigeria and other countries. The process is ongoing and should conclude soon,” the source disclosed.

The 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery, located in the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos, remains Africa’s largest integrated oil refining facility. It is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products while creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

The Dangote Group has pledged to honor agreements reached with union leaders during recent negotiations brokered by the Federal Government. However, tension between the company and oil sector unions remains high, with groups like NUPENG and DAPPMAN accusing the refinery of monopolistic practices and restrictive pricing models that threaten smaller marketers.

While government mediation has restored temporary calm, stakeholders await full implementation of the resolutions agreed upon at the conciliation meeting.