The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has pushed back against Vice President Kashim Shettima’s condemnation of its recent industrial action against the Dangote refinery, asserting that the nation’s interests supersede those of any single business mogul or the Presidency.
The union’s response came after Vice President Shettima, speaking at the opening of the 2025 Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, described Aliko Dangote as an “institution” whose investments must be protected. Shettima had warned that Nigeria was “greater than PENGASSAN” and that no one should hold the country to ransom over a “minor labour dispute.”
Clash Over Dangote’s Status
Responding to the Vice President’s remarks, the National President of PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, insisted that the union’s mandate to protect its members’ jobs was paramount and would be exercised whenever necessary.
“Of course the nation is bigger than PENGASSAN, the way it’s bigger than Dangote and the Presidency,” Osifo told journalists. “We have a mandate to protect the jobs of our members, that we will discharge whenever the need arises.”
Osifo, who also serves as the President of the Trade Union Congress, stressed that the union would not hesitate to deploy the same strike action if the circumstances—which involved the alleged sacking of 800 workers who joined the union—recurred.
“Should this same event occur again tomorrow, our approach will be exactly the same,” he stated.
The General Secretary of PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, echoed the sentiment, asking rhetorically: “Is Nigeria not bigger than any individual or institution?”
Background of the Dispute
Last week, PENGASSAN temporarily shut down critical oil and gas facilities nationwide, leading to a drop in power generation and causing queues at filling stations. The strike was suspended after the Federal Government intervened, instructing the Dangote Group to redeploy the sacked workers to other business units within its conglomerate.
Despite the resolution, the confrontation highlights the fragile relationship between the government, labor, and major domestic investors. The Dangote refinery released a statement thanking President Bola Tinubu and his officials for the “timely intervention” which averted the “disruptive actions” of the union.
Meanwhile, a separate group staged a protest in Kaduna, accusing PENGASSAN of being an economic “saboteur” working for a cartel of oil importers intent on frustrating local refining. PENGASSAN President Osifo dismissed the protesters as “ignorant people.”
