Federal Government Brokers Peace Between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN

The Federal Government has successfully mediated in the dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), ending two days of tense negotiations.

In a statement released early Wednesday, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, confirmed that the impasse was resolved after extensive deliberations involving both parties.

According to him, the resolutions reached at the conciliation meeting included recognition of workers’ right to unionisation under Nigerian law, which must be respected. The management of Dangote Group also agreed to redeploy disengaged employees to other subsidiaries of the company without any loss of pay.

The parties further resolved that no worker would be victimised for their role in the dispute. PENGASSAN, in turn, committed to initiating the process of calling off its strike action. Both sides entered into the agreement in good faith.

The high-level talks featured senior government officials including the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Barr Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Director-General of the DSS, Adeola Ajayi, and the Director-General of the NIA, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed.

Monday’s earlier session between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery management had ended in a stalemate after hours of dialogue. The meeting reconvened on Tuesday afternoon at the Office of the National Security Adviser, eventually extending into the early hours of Wednesday when a breakthrough was finally reached.

The dispute arose from PENGASSAN’s allegations of mass transfers, dismissal of union members, and replacement of Nigerian staff with foreign nationals, claims repeatedly denied by Dangote Refinery. Concerned about the possible impact on energy security and the economy, the Federal Government stepped in to avert escalation.

With this agreement, the standoff between Africa’s largest refinery and the oil workers’ union has been laid to rest, restoring calm to a sector critical to Nigeria’s economic stability.

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The Federal Government has resolved the industrial dispute between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and PENGASSAN after two days of talks, ensuring protection of workers’ rights, redeployment of disengaged staff, and an end to the strike.