PENGASSAN Rejects Communiqué, Demands Justice for 800 Sacked Workers

By: Aremu Toyeebaht The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has clarified that it did not sign the communiqué that led to the suspension of its nationwide strike against the Dangote Refinery. The union, which halted its four-day strike on Wednesday following Federal Government intervention, maintained that its grievances were far from resolved. At a press conference in Abuja, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo said the union suspended the action “in good faith” but warned that the strike could resume without notice if the refinery failed to implement agreed resolutions.

“If you see that communiqué, we did not sign it. Normally, it is supposed to be signed by three parties. We did not sign because we felt that some things in it were not okay with us,” Osifo explained on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday.

He stressed that the document released after the meeting was not an agreement but rather a statement by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, who mediated the talks.

Osifo also dismissed claims that the union’s main concern was check-off dues, insisting that its priority was protecting the welfare of more than 800 Nigerian workers allegedly sacked by the refinery and replaced with over 2,000 foreign workers.

“The release that Dangote made on workers sabotaging the economy was totally incorrect. If we had allowed that sabotage tag to stand, those 800 people would not be able to secure jobs in the future. Clearing that was a very big win,” Osifo said.

He added that the union’s fight was not for self-interest but to defend Nigerian workers’ rights to association and job security. Osifo stressed that PENGASSAN was ready to return to industrial action if necessary:

“If Dangote does not do the needful, our tools are always available. We will never get tired of struggling for what is right. We have been around for 50 years before the Dangote Refinery came on stream.”