₦airaland Forum

Our attention has been drawn to the written “directive” issued by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (“PENGASSAN” or “Association”) on 26 September 2025 to its “TotalEnergies E&P Branch”, “Seplat Producing Nigeria Unlimited Branch”, “Renaissance Branch”, “Chevron Branch”, “Oando Branch”, “Shell Nigeria Gas, SNG Branch” and “NGIC Branch. PENGASSAN in the said communication directs its members “to cut off gas supply to NGIC effective immediately” and that “all crude oil supply valves to the [Dangote] Refinery should be shut” and “the loading operation for vessel headed there should be halted immediately”. PENGASSAN, in the directive, also instructs the Chairman of its NGIC Branch to “ensure that gas supply to the Refinery is cut off effective immediately” and “all chairmen [of the PENGASSAN branches] on this summon are to report promptly the progress of the directive”.

This is a brazen, albeit shocking display of lawlessness and criminality by PENGASSAN. Absolutely no law gives PENGASSAN the right to direct its branches to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all. There is also no law in our statute books that would support or enable the PENGASSAN branches having to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all. Besides, it constitutes a criminal conduct for PENGASSAN or its members to disrupt and/or interfere however in the contract between Dangote Refinery and its various vendors for the supply of gas and crude oil to the Refinery. Those supply contracts were not entered into with PENGASSAN; they were entered into by Dangote Refinery with third party vendors and suppliers and PENGASSAN has no right whatsoever to disrupt and/or interfere with the performance of those contracts.

Perhaps, PENGASSAN needs to be reminded that Nigeria is a country governed by laws. Our laws do not brook self-help and mob action that could introduce mayhem and chaos and easily translate into anarchy. Indeed, this is a complete disavowal of PENGASSAN's Press Release of the same 26 September 2025 which claimed that the Association “will take all necessary legal actions” to challenge the Dangote Refinery actions that it purports has led to its illicit and criminal “directive”. It is instructive that no sooner had the Association issued the Press Release than it abandoned the path of lawfulness and embraced criminal conduct and the path that leads to mayhem and anarchy by issuing the directive afore mentioned.
Apart from the lawlessness and criminality inherent in the PENGASSAN instruction to its branches, the Association’s directive amounts to economic sabotage at multiple levels. In plain language, PENGASSAN has directed its branches to disrupt and stop the supply of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery to Nigerians.
The products that would be disrupted and stopped include but are not limited to aviation fuel, petrol, kerosene, diesel and cooking gas – all products that are used and required by all stripes of Nigerians and persons living in Nigeria, whether high and mighty or lowly and ordinary. In what circumstance would it be justified for PENGASSAN to so disrupt and introduce insufferable hardship into the living conditions of Nigerians? None that we can see.
The follow up question is, in whose interest and on whose behalf is PENGASSAN directing and intending to inflict such anarchic and criminal disruption upon the Nigerian society and persons living in Nigeria? Most certainly, not in the interest of the Nigerian State and/or the Nigerian public and citizens.

This is also economic sabotage against the Nigerian State at multiple levels. Dangote Refinery is the only refinery of its type in Africa and ordinarily should be the pride of all Nigerians as well as the governments of Nigeria. It should ordinarily have special protection and status and indeed qualifies as a strategic national asset.
An irreparable injury to the Dangote Refinery such as PENGASSAN has directed constitutes a national embarrassment to all of us. The directive is a disincentive to external investors who ordinarily would have been encouraged by the success of Dangote Refinery to contemplate investing in Nigeria's oil and gas sector or generally.
PENGASSAN may also not be aware that Dangote Refinery is one of the largest contributors to the revenue purse of the Nigerian governments – both Federal and sub-nationals. That contribution is currently threatened by PENGASSAN and would of course be paused if and as soon as and for as long as the PENGASSAN directive is implemented by its branches.

We are, by this write-up, drawing the attention of the Federal Government and its security and law enforcement agencies – as well as all other levels of governments in Nigeria – to this criminal, lawless, reckless and irresponsible conduct of PENGASSAN and calling on them – the Federal Government and its agencies, in particular – to call the Association to order. PENGASSAN has no right to introduce anarchy and mayhem into our society. The Association is not above the law, and it must not be allowed to believe that it is or behave as if it is.

We are also calling on all Nigerians to take note of the unquantifiable and irredeemable hardship which PENGASSAN wishes to inflict on all of us. There is no Nigerian household that does not use or need the petroleum products which PENGASSAN has now directed its branches, by fiat, to withdraw from the Nigerian market – again, we list some of them: petrol, cooking gas, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel.

The production and supply of these products by Dangote Refinery would cease if the PENGASSAN cabal is allowed or permitted to enforce its lawless and criminal “directive”. The Association must not be allowed to ride roughshod on Nigerians.
The repercussions from the PENGASSAN directive would affect and inflict harm on all Nigerians This is therefore a fight for all Nigerians.

We all must encourage and nudge PENGASSAN to live up to the commitment in its Press Release of 26 September 2025, to wit, “take all necessary legal actions” – not illicit and criminal actions – to challenge the Dangote Refinery acts that it purports has led to its “directive”.

Signed:
Management
27th September, 2025

orikoku:
It’s the common man that will suffer all this wahala. Those unions should be called to order. Bunch of thieves. As subsidy money is not forthcoming coming they want to turn dangote to atm machine. Criminals

Zionmdde:
And the shedding of tears have just begun
I thought they said pengassan cannot do anything
Small talk ooo, tears everywhere

DatNiggaDaz:
Dangote you are the lawless person here. Obey the laws of the Land as provided by the constitution

Zionmdde:
And the shedding of tears have just begun
I thought they said pengassan cannot do anything
Small talk ooo, tears everywhere

EngrHumble:
Summary of Dangote Refinery’s Response to PENGASSAN Directive

Dangote Petroleum Refinery strongly condemned the directive issued by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on 26th September 2025, instructing its branches to cut off crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery.

The refinery described the directive as:

1. Lawless and criminal, since PENGASSAN has no legal right to interfere in supply contracts between Dangote and its third-party vendors.

2. Economic sabotage, as it threatens to disrupt the supply of essential products like petrol, diesel, kerosene, cooking gas, and aviation fuel – products critical to Nigerians’ daily lives.

3. A threat to national interest, because Dangote Refinery is a strategic national asset, the only one of its kind in Africa, and a major contributor to federal and state revenues.

Dangote further warned that PENGASSAN’s actions could:

1. Inflict hardship on Nigerians by halting fuel supply.

2. Create anarchy, mayhem, and damage investor confidence in Nigeria.

3. Embarrass the Nigerian state internationally.

4. Sacking those workers whilst pressing the neck of the unions with interim court injunctions is SELF-HELP!!

The refinery called on the Federal Government, law enforcement agencies, and all Nigerians to resist PENGASSAN’s move, stressing that the Association is not above the law.

Finally, Dangote urged PENGASSAN to stick to its earlier stance of pursuing “all necessary legal actions” rather than unlawful directives that could harm the Nigerian public and economy.

searchng4love:
Dangote Refinery should stop preaching to us. We can import refined oil from Libya if necessary. He cannot hold us to ransom with his claim of strategic asset that wants to be unlawful. In his dreams!

searchng4love:
Are you minding the lawless and extremely callous organisation?

Zionmdde:
So what type of men were sacked and replaced with Indians? Are they uncommon men?

Did dangote tell you that any union requested for a kobo from him? And what has Pengassan got to do with subsidy money?

searchng4love:
Dangote Refinery should stop preaching to us. We can import refined oil from Libya if necessary. He cannot hold us to ransom with his claim of strategic asset that wants to be unlawful. In his dreams!

infohenry:
Please don't even support this pengassan criminals bro this is my industry, this guys are criminals they have caused a lot damage to oil and gas industry in Nigeria. Shell sold all their onshore assets is because of this guys awards all sorts contracts to themselves and cronies declared productive wells non productive turn around sold to their friends. They are evil if dangote want to succeed he must not allow them to occupy strategic positions in his company. NNPC is not working is because of this guys.

infohenry:
Please don't even support this pengassan criminals bro this is my industry, this guys are criminals they have caused a lot damage to oil and gas industry in Nigeria. Shell sold all their onshore assets is because of this guys awards all sorts contracts to themselves and cronies declared productive wells non productive turn around sold to their friends. They are evil if dangote want to succeed he must not allow them to occupy strategic positions in his company. NNPC is not working is because of this guys.

TheBizGenius:
I just read all the comments up there and I am disappointed.

Just because you are poor does not mean you should support anything bad that is done against any rich person around you. (Yes, there is a human condition like that).

Any union that feels aggrieved should go to court to correct the anomalies that dangote has done. Ordering your members to break legal contracts to another party is the highest form of sabotage and is a misnomer in Legalities. It is like you, as an individual, fighting against someone, who turns around and orders his agbero boys to deal with you.

Once again, I am not supporting Aliko. But if what he has done is bad, as a union, there is the industrial court. That's the law.

infohenry:
Please don't even support this pengassan criminals bro this is my industry, this guys are criminals they have caused a lot damage to oil and gas industry in Nigeria. Shell sold all their onshore assets is because of this guys awards all sorts contracts to themselves and cronies declared productive wells non productive turn around sold to their friends. They are evil if dangote want to succeed he must not allow them to occupy strategic positions in his company. NNPC is not working is because of this guys.