PENGASSAN Backs NUPENG, Demands Full Unionisation at Dangote Refinery

By Chinedu Echianu

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has declared its full solidarity with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in the ongoing dispute over workers’ rights at the Dangote Refinery.

It will be recalled that Dangote Refinery recently procured 10,000 CNG-powered trucks to distribute petroleum products from its facility to retailers, and controversially set up a parallel drivers’ association — effectively barring them from joining NUPENG, the parent union of petroleum tanker drivers.

In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Comrade Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN accused the management of Dangote Refinery of resisting unionisation since inception, despite repeated diplomatic efforts to encourage compliance.

“It is with deep concern that PENGASSAN observes the increasing resistance to unionisation at the Dangote Refinery, as the continued denial of workers’ rights will no longer be tolerated going forward,” the statement read.

The association stressed that the rights of workers to organise and collectively bargain are fundamental human rights, protected under both Nigerian labour laws and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. It warned that if the refinery continues to frustrate unionisation, PENGASSAN may have no option but to shut down operations in solidarity with NUPENG.

PENGASSAN called for immediate and constructive dialogue between stakeholders to resolve the dispute, cautioning that failure to address the matter could have consequences beyond the refinery, with wider implications for the oil and gas sector.

“We stand firmly in support of NUPENG’s call for the full unionisation of not just Petroleum Tanker Drivers but all employees of the refinery and its allied companies,” PENGASSAN stated.

Both unions have now stepped up pressure on the refinery to comply with global labour standards and ensure fair treatment of workers, as tension grows within Nigeria’s petroleum industry.