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- Shock as Dangote Refinery Sacks All Nigerian Workers After Union Membership Tension
The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has dismissed all its Nigerian workers in a move that has sent shockwaves across the country’s oil and gas industry. Read Our Last Post: Mother of Three Breaks Down in Tears as Wealthy Husband Abandons Family for Side Chick
The mass sack, which was announced in an internal memo dated Thursday, September 25, 2025, came less than twenty-four hours after about ninety per cent of the Nigerian staff officially joined the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN.
The memo, signed by Femi Adekunle, the Chief General Manager of Human Asset Management, described the decision as part of what the company called a “total re-organisation” of the refinery. It explained that the step was taken following what the management claimed were “reported cases of sabotage” in some units of the multi-billion-dollar plant.
The notice directed all affected workers to immediately hand over company property in their possession to their respective line managers and obtain official clearance. The finance department of the refinery has also been instructed to calculate benefits and entitlements due to each dismissed employee, to be paid in line with the provisions of their employment contracts.
In the circular, the refinery’s management expressed gratitude to the disengaged workers for their services while they were in employment, but the sudden move has already sparked anger and anxiety both within and outside the oil industry.
Prudentj2 reports that Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN have been locked in a heated dispute for months over unionisation rights. PENGASSAN, one of Nigeria’s strongest labour unions, had accused the refinery’s management of resisting workers’ attempts to join the union, while the company has insisted it has the right to manage internal affairs in line with its policies.
Reactions have already begun pouring in from labour leaders and stakeholders in the oil sector. Many view the sack of the entire Nigerian workforce as a direct response to the unionisation drive. Observers warn that the action could trigger a fresh industrial crisis, especially as the refinery remains one of Nigeria’s most strategic investments in the petroleum sector.
As of Friday morning, PENGASSAN officials were yet to release a formal statement, but sources within the union told reporters that an emergency meeting had been scheduled to deliberate on what they described as “an attack on workers’ rights.”
The Dangote Refinery, which was inaugurated with much fanfare in 2023 and touted as Africa’s biggest petroleum refining project, has faced several controversies ranging from delays in production to disputes over employment conditions.
With the sacking of all Nigerian workers, attention now turns to how the Federal Government, the Nigeria Labour Congress, and PENGASSAN will respond to a development that has the potential to disrupt the refinery’s operations and further strain the nation’s troubled oil and gas industry.
This remains a developing story.
