The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has sacked all its Nigerian employees, a move that comes less than 24 hours after 90 percent of them reportedly joined the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
In a memo dated September 25, 2025, and signed by the Chief General Manager of Human Asset Management, Femi Adekunle, the company explained that the decision formed part of a “total re-organisation” of the refinery, citing reported cases of sabotage in different units of the plant.
The directive ordered all affected staff to surrender company property in their possession to line managers and secure exit clearance. It also mandated the finance department to compute benefits and entitlements for payment “in line with terms of employment.”
Management, while thanking the disengaged workers for their service, maintained that the restructuring was necessary to safeguard refinery operations.
The development comes against the backdrop of an increasingly bitter industrial dispute between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN over workers’ rights to unionize. Union officials have accused the refinery of frustrating efforts to organize its workforce, alleging that management viewed union membership as a threat to its control. The refinery, however, has consistently resisted the move, claiming that union activities could undermine productivity and security within the multibillion-dollar project.
(Journalist101)
