NLC PLACES UNIONS ON RED ALERT OVER FACE-OFF BETWEEN DANGOTE REFINERY, PENGASSAN
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has placed its affiliate unions on red alert following the escalating dispute between the Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
PENGASSAN has accused the refinery’s management of sacking more than 800 Nigerian workers, sparking protests and industrial action. On Monday, union members barricaded the headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Abuja in line with directives from their national executive committee.
In a strongly worded statement, NLC President Joe Ajaero accused the Dangote Group of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and international conventions by allegedly dismissing workers for joining the union.
He described the conflict as “a symptom of a deeper sickness a capitalist pathology of union-busting, worker enslavement, and impunity that defines the Group’s industrial relations strategy.”
“The Dangote Group has operated for too long as a state within a state, flouting Section 40 of our Constitution, violating ILO Conventions 87 and 98, and treating national labour laws with contempt,” Ajaero said.
The NLC directed all affiliate unions to begin immediate mobilisation for mass unionisation of Dangote Group facilities nationwide and to prepare for “a full-scale, decisive engagement” against what it termed the conglomerate’s anti-labour stance.
The labour centre’s demands include unconditional respect for workers’ rights to unionise, an end to intimidation and union-busting, and full compliance with Nigeria’s labour laws.
“The impunity of the Dangote Group must be met with the resistance of organised labour. No amount of media propaganda will deter us from fighting for workers’ rights,” Ajaero declared.
The NLC has set a 72-hour window for its affiliate unions to form Action Mobilisation Committees and liaise with its National Secretariat to coordinate strategy, logistics, and communication for the next phase of its response.
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