The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, and Dangote Industrial Free Zone Development has terminated the employment of all its Nigerian workers.
In the guise of re-organisation, the companies took the action less than 24 hours after 90% of them elected to join the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
PENGASSAN’s President, Comrade Festus, Osifo, who is also the President of the Trade Union Congress, however assured that the company would reverse the decision.
He told DAILY POST: ‘Yes, it is true. We saw the letter late last night (Wednesday).
‘I can assure you that they will recall all of them’.
According to a memo dated 25 September 2025, and signed by the Chief General Manager of Human Asset Management, Femi Adekunle, the companies said that the decision was taken as part of a ‘total re-organisation’ following ‘many recent cases of reported sabotage in different units of the petroleum refinery leading to major safety concerns’.
The notice directed affected staff to surrender all company property in their possession to their line managers and obtain exit clearance.
The finance department was also instructed to compute benefits and entitlements for payment in line with terms of employment.
Dangote refinery and PENGASSN had been embroiled in a trade dispute over unionisation.
In the past weeks, Dangote Refinery and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had engaged in a face-off over workers’ unionisation.
NUPENG had declared a strike before it was suspended after the intervention of the Federal Government.
Dangote Refinery secured an interim injunction restraining the union and its affiliates from embarking on strike. The order has since expired.
