Nigeria’s powerful oil workers’ union has instructed members to halt crude and gas deliveries to the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery, intensifying a labour dispute that threatens to disrupt fuel supply across Africa’s most populous nation.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) issued the directive to its branches at major oil companies, following the dismissal of hundreds of unionised workers. In a letter dated 26 September, the union accused Dangote management of “misinformation” instead of addressing allegations of wrongful disengagement.
Dangote had announced on last Friday that a “small number” of employees were laid off over sabotage claims, but the union insists more than 800 Nigerian workers were replaced by foreign nationals, mostly from India.
PENGASSAN General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa ordered the “shutting of crude oil supply valves” and suspension of vessel loading to the refinery, signalling a potentially coordinated nationwide shutdown. Dangote Refinery, however, rejected the union’s directive, arguing that PENGASSAN has no legal authority to interfere with its supply contracts, and defended the dismissals as part of a safety and efficiency reorganisation.
The standoff adds to mounting pressure on the refinery, which has already announced it will suspend petrol sales in naira from 28 September due to crude shortages and foreign exchange mismatches — a move that could drive up fuel prices and deepen strains on Nigeria’s currency.