Nigeria’s oil workers’ union has ordered its members to cut off gas supply to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, escalating a labour dispute after the dismissal of hundreds of Nigerian workers.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) directed its branches across major oil firms to enforce an immediate halt to crude and gas deliveries to the refinery.
The union accused Dangote management of “misinformation and propaganda” instead of addressing the alleged wrongful disengagement of unionised employees, according to a letter dated September 26 seen by Reuters.
“Crude oil supply valves to the refinery should be shut. The loading operation for vessels headed there should be halted immediately,” PENGASSAN general secretary Lumumba Okugbawa wrote in the directive. The directive comes days after Dangote Refinery laid off the Nigerian workers, allegedly replacing them with foreign nationals, mostly from India. The company said the dismissals were part of a reorganisation aimed at improving safety and operational efficiency.
Dangote Refinery did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the PENGASSAN letter. The dispute adds to mounting pressure on the $20bn refinery, which announced it would suspend petrol sales in naira, effective September 28, due to crude supply shortfalls and foreign exchange mismatches. The move has raised concerns about rising fuel prices and further strain on Nigeria’s fragile currency.
PENGASSAN said chairpersons of union chapters at oil majors must “report promptly the progress of the directive”, signalling a co-ordinated shutdown that could disrupt fuel supplies in Africa’s most populous country.
Reuters
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