Oshiomhole Blasts PENGASSAN Over Dangote Refinery Dispute Escalation

Former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president and senator, Adams Oshiomhole, has faulted the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) for turning its dispute with the Dangote Refinery into a nationwide shutdown of oil facilities, calling the action hasty and unfair to other workers.

Speaking in an interview with Arise Television on Friday, Oshiomhole said while unions have the right to defend employees, they must do so without inflicting broader economic hardship.

“In seeking to protect a particular set of workers, you do not then risk the jobs of several others. The tools deployed in any dispute must not undermine people’s livelihoods,” he said.

He criticised the union’s decision to shut down facilities belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and other firms because of issues at Dangote, saying the move triggered unnecessary fuel queues. “People asked why the oil industry was shut down, and the answer was because PENGASSAN decided NNPC and several companies should stop operations—all because of a problem in one refinery,” he noted.

Drawing from his time as NLC president, Oshiomhole argued that industrial disputes should remain targeted. “We had a serious disagreement with Union Bank over their policy on married couples, but even though we had the power to shut down all banks, we didn’t, because their offence couldn’t be applied to others,” he explained.

He cautioned against strikes that cause unintended hardship, stressing that innocent citizens such as traders were bearing the brunt. “In pursuing war, you must recognise that your actions should not hurt tomato sellers who cannot move their goods because of a quarrel between one refinery and one union,” he said.

Oshiomhole affirmed the importance of union rights but urged moderation. “Freedom of association is both a constitutional and God-given right. But with that freedom comes responsibility—both employer and employee must act fairly,” he said.

He also advised giving new private sector investors like Dangote Refinery time to stabilise. “An employer has to mature and be strong enough to guarantee good-paying jobs. If you cripple a business before it finds its feet, you are also destroying the jobs you claim to protect,” he warned.

Commissioned in May 2023, the Dangote Refinery is Africa’s largest single-train refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. PENGASSAN last month ordered members to shut down operations in protest against alleged anti-labour practices at the facility, a move that led to fuel shortages across several states and drew sharp criticism from industry stakeholders and government officials.