Trouble looms in Nigeria’s oil industry as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has directed it’s members nationwide to embark on industrial action from monday, 29/9/25.
PENGASSAN in a resolution issued at the end of the Association’s National Executive Council, NEC, meeting on Saturday, said its members in various offices, companies, institutions, and agencies will cease all services starting at 12:01 AM on Monday.
The resolution which came as a result of the decision by Dangote Refinery to sack all Nigerian workers that unionized charged members stationed in various field locations including all control room operations, panel operations, and outfield personnel to withdraw their services further explained that the prayer is a call to God to make those in authority to rein in Dangote and his co-travelers on the need to obey Nigeria’s law.
PENGASSAN made it clear that during the strike period, no intervention whatsoever would be entertained across field locations except where the safety of personnel and assets is at risk, noting that such clearance must be obtained from the National Secretariat.
To prove the seriousness of the situation, PENGASSAN also directed that all processes that involve gas and crude supply to Dangote Refinery be let off immediately.
Reacting to the directive issued by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) ordering an immediate suspension of gas supply to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the management of the company described the move by PENGASSAN as “a brazen, albeit shocking display of lawlessness and criminality’.
“Our attention has been drawn to the written “directive” issued by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria
(“PENGASSAN” or “Association” on 26 September 2025 to its “TotalEnergies E&P Branch”, “Seplat Producing Nigeria Unlimited Branch”, “Renaissance Branch”, “Chevron Branch”, “Oando Branch”, “Shell Nigeria Gas, SNG Branch” and “NGIC Branch. PENGASSAN in the said communication directs its members “to cut off gas supply to NGIC effective immediately” and that “all crude oil supply valves to the [Dangote] Refinery should be shut” and “the loading operation for vessel headed there should be halted immediately”. PENGASSAN, in the directive, also instructs the Chairman of its NGIC Branch to “ensure that gas supply to the Refinery is cut off effective immediately” and “all chairmen [of the PENGASSAN branches] on this summon are to report promptly the progress of the directive”.
This is a brazen, albeit shocking display of lawlessness and criminality by PENGASSAN. Absolutely no law gives PENGASSAN the right to direct its branches to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all. There is also no law in our statute books that would support or enable the PENGASSAN branches having to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all. Besides, it constitutes a criminal conduct for PENGASSAN or its members to disrupt and/or interfere howsoever in the contract between Dangote Refinery and its various vendors for the supply of gas and crude oil to the Refinery. Those supply contracts were not entered into with PENGASSAN; they were entered into by Dangote Refinery with third party vendors and suppliers and PENGASSAN has no right whatsoever to disrupt and/or interfere with the performance of those contracts.
Perhaps, PENGASSAN needs to be reminded that Nigeria is a country governed by laws. Our laws do not brook self-help and mob action that could introduce mayhem and chaos and easily translate into anarchy. Indeed, this is a complete disavowal of PENGASSAN’s Press Release of the same 26 September 2025 which claimed that the Association “will take all necessary legal actions” to challenge the Dangote Refinery actions that it purports has led to its illicit and criminal “directive”. It is instructive that no sooner had the Association issued the Press Release than it abandoned the path of lawfulness and embraced criminal conduct and the path that leads to mayhem and anarchy by issuing the directive afore mentioned.
Apart from the lawlessness and criminality inherent in the PENGASSAN instruction to its branches, the Association’s directive amounts to economic sabotage at multiple levels. In plain language, PENGASSAN has directed its branches to disrupt and stop the supply of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery to Nigerians. The products that would be disrupted and stopped include but are not limited to aviation fuel, petrol, kerosene, diesel and cooking gas – all products that are used and required by all stripes of Nigerians and persons living in Nigeria, whether high and mighty or lowly and ordinary. In what circumstance would it be justified for PENGASSAN to so disrupt and introduce insufferable hardship into the living conditions of Nigerians? None that we can see. The follow up question is, in whose interest and on whose behalf is PENGASSAN directing and intending to inflict such anarchic and criminal disruption upon the Nigerian society and persons living in Nigeria? Most certainly, not in the interest of the Nigerian State and/or the Nigerian public and citizens,” part of the statement reads.
