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| Aliko. |
Following prolonged discussions between Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) concerning their disagreement and the dismissal of roughly 800 employees, it has been agreed that the affected staff will be reinstated and reassigned to other subsidiaries within the Dangote Group.
The reconciliation meeting was initiated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in response to a warning from PENGASSAN to halt gas supply to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and to withdraw their services.
Key stakeholders present at the meeting included the National Security Adviser (NSA); the Ministers of Labour and Employment, Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning; and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy. Also present were the Ministers of State for Labour and Employment and for Petroleum Resources (Gas), represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Additionally, the meeting was attended by the Directors-General of the Department of State Services and the National Intelligence Agency, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Chief Executives of NMDPRA and NUPRC, and representatives from NNPCL.
The leadership of the Dangote Group, the President and Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), along with PENGASSAN executives, participated in the discussions, which took place on Monday, 29th and Tuesday, 30th September 2025.
A communiqué issued after the extended meeting at the office of the NSA stated that PENGASSAN had agreed to commence the process of ending the strike.
The communiqué, signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, further stated that an agreement was reached that no employee involved in the dispute would be punished.
It reads: “Whereas the leadership of PENGASSAN said that the directives given to stop the supply of gas to Dangote Petroleum and withdrawal of services was in response to the termination of appointment of over Eight Hundred members of PENGASSAN by the management of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, the management of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical on the other hand, explained the reason for disengagement of the workers was as a result of the ongoing reorganization in the company.”
The statement continued: “After a lengthy discussion, the matter was resolved as follows:
“The Honourable Minister of Labour informed the meeting that unionisation is a right of workers in accordance with the laws of Nigeria and that this right should be respected.
“After examining the procedure used in the disengagement of workers, the meeting agreed that the management of Dangote Group shall immediately start the process of taking the disengaged staff to other companies within the Dangote Group, with no loss of pay.
“No worker will be victimised arising from their role in the impasse between Dangote and PENGASSAN. PENGASSAN agreed to start the process of calling off the strike. Both parties agreed to this understanding in good faith”, the communique added.
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