The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has escalated its standoff with Dangote Petroleum Refinery by immediately suspending gas and crude oil supply to the facility.
In a directive issued through a letter signed by its General Secretary, Comrade Lumumba Ighotemu Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery’s management of unfair labour practices, particularly the disengagement of unionised workers. PENGASSAN further alleged that rather than engaging with the union constructively, the refinery had resorted to “misinformation and propaganda.”
As part of the enforcement of its directive, PENGASSAN instructed all branch chairmen, especially those in the Nigeria Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) branch, to cut off gas supply to the refinery immediately. The order also extends to shutting crude oil supply valves linked to the refinery and suspending all loading operations for vessels destined for the facility.
The union said the drastic measures were unavoidable, stressing that they were taken to safeguard the constitutional rights of workers to freely associate and unionise.
