Tag: PENGASSAN

PENGASSAN faults Executive Order on oil revenue

Aminu Imam
PENGASSAN faults Tinubu

…Says Tinubu ill-advised The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has faulted the Executive Order signed by President Bola Tinubu, targeted at promoting gas production in Nigeria.  Recall that Tinubu signed the Executive Order, titled: ‘The Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost-Efficiency Incentives Order (2025)’, on Thursday.  However, at a press conference in Abuja, PENGASSAN president, Festus Osifo, argued that the tax incentives granted to oil companies by the President may not help in the reduction of cost if insecurity is not addressed. “The Executive Order signed by…

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Ɗangote Refinery: “Nigeria greater than PENGASSAN” – VP Shettima

Aminu Imam
VP Shettima on Dangote

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said that Nigeria is greater than the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), following the rift between the Association and the Ɗangote refinery. Shettima made this statement yesterday, at the opening of the Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) 2025 in Abuja, stressing the critical importance of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Ɗangote Refinery and declared that it must be supported at all costs to succeed. He said that the $20 billion facility is a national asset that must be supported to function. “Aliko Ɗangote, he’s not…

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Ɗangote Refinery: Oshiomhole slams PENGASSAN for escalating dispute

Aminu Imam
Oshiomhole PENGASSAN

Former Nigeria Labour Congress president and senator, Adams Oshiomhole, has criticised the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), for escalating its disagreement with the Ɗangote Refinery into a nationwide shutdown of oil facilities, describing the move as hasty and unfair to other workers. Speaking during a televised interview yesterday, Oshiomhole said while unions have the right to defend workers, they must do so in ways that do not create wider economic hardship. “I think that in seeking to protect a particular set of workers, you do…

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PENGASSAN denies signing Ɗangote truce to suspend strike

Aminu Imam
PENGASSAN denies

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has distanced itself from the Federal Government’s communiqué, which announced the suspension of its nationwide strike against Ɗangote Refinery, insisting it did not sign the document. Recall that the union reportedly suspended its industrial action on Wednesday, October 1, after government intervention, but stressed that its concerns over the welfare of more than 800 sacked workers were not fully addressed. However, appearing on a television programme yesterday, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, explained that the communique presented after the negotiations…

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PENGASSAN suspends nationwide strike

Aminu Imam
PENGASSAN suspends

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), has suspended its nationwide strike. PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, announced the suspension at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, explaining that the decision followed a meeting with the National Security Adviser (NSA)and the management of Dangote Refinery. Osifo admitted that “grey areas” remain in the communiqué, which both the government and refinery management could not fully clarify. He stressed that the association suspended the strike in good faith, despite lingering dissatisfaction with parts of the resolution. Osifo however warned…

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“PENGASSAN should be dissolved for sabotaging Nigeria’s oil sector” – Ndume

Aminu Imam
Ndume backs Tinubu

…Backs Tinubu on Labour crackdown The Senator representing Borno-South, Ali Ndume, has urged President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action against the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), accusing the union of pursuing private interests rather than the collective good of Nigerians. Recall that PENGASSAN recently directed its members to embark on a nationwide strike in response to the dismissal of over 800 workers by the Dangote Refinery. Reacting during an appearance on a television programme on Monday, Ndume accused the union of corruption and sabotage…

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Blackout, fuel price fears as PENGASSAN strike shuts down oil, gas sector

Aminu Imam
PENGASSAN strike

…Court stops PENGASSAN Nigeria’s energy sector was thrown into turmoil yesterday, as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) shut-down key oil and gas institutions in protest against the mass sacking of 800 workers at the Ɗangote Petroleum Refinery. The strike forced the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) under lock and key in Abuja, with workers chanting solidarity songs and barricading entrances. PENGASSAN ordered members in international oil…

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Ɗangote Refinery: Blackout imminent, as PENGASSAN declares nationwide strike

Aminu Imam
PENGASSAN declares

…FG summons parties for reconciliation meeting The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), has directed its members nationwide to withdraw their services following the alleged mass dismissal of some Nigerian workers by Ɗangote Refinery. This was announced in a circular issued after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, and signed by General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa. The union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, by dismissing workers for joining the association. It alleged the refinery…

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Crisis deepens at Ɗangote Refinery; Naira petrol sales halted as PENGASSAN cuts crude, gas supply

Aminu Imam
Dangote Refinery crisis

Nigeria’s energy sector was thrown into fresh uncertainty yesterday as the $20bn Ɗangote Petroleum Refinery faced simultaneous blows: suspension of petrol sales in naira and a union-ordered shutdown of crude oil and gas supplies. In a notice to customers late Friday, Ɗangote Refinery announced it would stop selling petrol in naira from Sunday, September 28, citing depletion of its crude-for-naira allocation. The company explained that it had been selling “in excess” of its allocation under the Federal Executive Council’s policy to stabilise pump prices and reduce dollar demand. Customers with…

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NMDPRA branch defies PENGASSAN leadership

Aminu Imam
NMDPRA

…Vows to uphold union democracy A major rift has erupted within Nigeria’s oil workers’ union, as over 500 members of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Branch have invoked the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) Constitution to hold branch elections, defying what they describe as stone-walling and unilateral control by the union’s national leadership under President Festus Osifo. The staff, under the umbrella of the NMDPRA Congress, have openly rejected the caretaker committee installed by the National Secretariat of PENGASSAN. The decision,…

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