iDeemlawfulThe Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has issued a fresh warning to Dangote Petroleum Refinery after suspending its strike.
On Wednesday, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, announced the suspension in Abuja, explaining that the decision followed meetings with the National Security Adviser and Dangote management.
Earlier, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, confirmed that both parties had reached a compromise, stating that more than 800 disengaged workers would be reassigned to Dangote Group subsidiaries without loss of pay.
“Unionisation is a legal right of workers,” the minister said. “No worker will be victimised for participating in the dispute.”
However, speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, Osifo clarified that PENGASSAN never signed the communiqué presented as the settlement of the strike.
“If you see that communiqué, we did not sign it. Normally, it is supposed to be signed by three parties. We did not sign because we felt that some things in it were not okay with us,” he said.
He stressed that the statement was merely a communication from the Minister of Labour and Employment, not an agreement.
“When we subjected it to our NEC, we had to decide on priorities. Some media houses claimed we were only interested in check-up dues. That is false. What we prioritised was how our members would return to work and provide for their families.”
According to him, PENGASSAN’s position remains firm: “Take the people back to the refinery.” He added that Dangote initially refused to reabsorb the sacked workers until the government intervened to push for a compromise.
Osifo dismissed Dangote’s allegations that the disengaged workers were sabotaging the economy.
“The release that Dangote made on workers sabotaging the economy was totally incorrect. If we had allowed that sabotage tag to stand, those 800 people would not be able to secure jobs in the future. That stigma would remain forever,” he said, calling its removal “a very big win.”
The PENGASSAN boss maintained that the union’s struggle was about protecting Nigerian workers.
“If Dangote does not do the needful, our tools are always available. We will never get tired of struggling for what is right. We have been around for 50 years before the Dangote Refinery came on stream,” he declared.
