Nigeria is facing the prospect of an energy crisis after major oil institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, were shut down on Monday following strike action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.
On Sunday, reports indicated that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s gas and crude supplies had also been halted by PENGASSAN in protest against widespread dismissals of union employees.
The union alleged that foreign workers, mainly from India, were being brought in to displace local staff at the $20 billion refinery.
This is not the first time the refinery has clashed with Nigeria’s oil unions. Just weeks ago, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers threatened strike action, accusing the refinery of attempting to operate outside union oversight.
PENGASSAN said its current grievance stems from “misinformation and propaganda” surrounding the refinery’s recent layoffs. On Friday, reports across Nigeria revealed that the refinery had dismissed 3,000 indigenous workers.
In response, the refinery stated that the move was part of a restructuring effort to safeguard operations after “recent cases of sabotage” in several units of the plant. In a statement issued on September 26, management said the layoffs were necessary to protect the refinery from threats that posed “serious risks to human life and safety.”
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The statement added, “We remain vigilant to our internal systems and vulnerabilities to ensure the long-term stability of this strategic national asset. It is imperative to protect the refinery for the benefit of Nigerians, our partners across Africa, and the thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on it.”
The company emphasized that thousands of Nigerians were still employed at the refinery and that only a small fraction of staff had been affected by the restructuring. But PENGASSAN maintained that the “wrongful disengagement” of unionized workers remained unresolved.
The strike represents the first major disruption at the refinery since it began operations earlier this year, raising concerns about stability in Nigeria’s refining sector.
PENGASSAN instructed its members in various field locations to begin a 24-hour prayer vigil starting at 6:00 a.m. and announced that the Dangote Refinery plant was “100 percent shut down.”
It added that the fertilizer plant’s second train had also been halted, while the first train was operating at only 60 percent capacity.
According to an update from The Punch, NUPRC employees were seen stranded outside the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, with security confirming that strike instructions barred staff from entering. Activities at the NMDPRA offices in the capital’s Central Business District were also fully suspended.
Tony Iziogba, PENGASSAN’s chairman at NMDPRA, confirmed the development to The Punch, stating that there was “100 per cent compliance” with the strike directive, which prevented both workers and visitors from accessing the offices. He added that similar compliance had been enforced at NNPC and other key agencies.
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Image Credit: The Guardian
