Nigeria’s biggest industrial player, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, has described as “brazen, lawless and criminal” the directive issued by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), which ordered its branches to halt the supply of gas and crude oil to the refinery.
In a strongly worded statement released on Saturday, September 27, 2025, and signed by its management, the refinery said PENGASSAN’s actions amount to deliberate economic sabotage, capable of plunging the nation into hardship and anarchy. Dangote accused the union of overstepping its bounds, noting that no law grants PENGASSAN the authority to direct or enforce such a cut-off of energy supply to any private establishment.
The statement read in part, “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 to carry out such acts.”
Dangote Group said the union’s decision, if implemented, would cripple one of Africa’s largest private investments and inflict suffering on millions of Nigerians. The company argued that the move represents not only an attack on its operations but also a direct assault on Nigeria’s economic stability and the welfare of its citizens.
The statement explained that the refinery has valid contracts with multiple vendors and suppliers for gas and crude oil delivery and that these contracts were executed independently, without any involvement from PENGASSAN. “PENGASSAN has no right whatsoever to disrupt or interfere with the performance of those contracts,” the company asserted.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery further warned that the directive could cause a nationwide fuel shortage, disrupting the production of petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, and cooking gas—commodities critical to Nigeria’s daily life and industrial activity. “In plain language, PENGASSAN has directed its branches to stop the supply of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery to Nigerians,” the statement said, adding that such disruption would inflict “insufferable hardship” on ordinary citizens.
The company also challenged the motive behind the directive, questioning whose interests PENGASSAN was serving by attempting to cripple operations that were designed to benefit the entire nation. The refinery described the act as a “criminal introduction of hardship” into the lives of Nigerians, stressing that it was not carried out in the public interest.
Beyond the immediate economic consequences, Dangote argued that the union’s action poses reputational risks for Nigeria, discouraging both local and foreign investors. “This is economic sabotage against the Nigerian state at multiple levels. The refinery is the only one of its type in Africa and should ordinarily be the pride of all Nigerians,” the company said.
The refinery maintained that its establishment qualifies as a strategic national asset, one that the federal government should protect. It called on the Federal Government and all relevant agencies, including security and law enforcement institutions, to act swiftly in curbing what it described as PENGASSAN’s “reckless and irresponsible conduct.”
Dangote’s management also appealed to Nigerians to reject the union’s call, stressing that the directive would hurt every household in the country. “We are calling on all Nigerians to take note of this latest criminal instruction which PENGASSAN wishes to inflict on all of us. There is no Nigerian household that does not use one or more petroleum products which PENGASSAN has now directed its branches to halt,” the statement read.
The company referenced PENGASSAN’s earlier press release of September 26, which had indicated plans to “take all necessary legal actions” against Dangote. In response, the refinery said it welcomed any legal challenge but condemned what it called the union’s resort to unlawful self-help and sabotage.
“We must encourage and nudge PENGASSAN to live up to the commitment in its Press Release—to take all necessary legal actions, not illicit and criminal actions, to challenge the Dangote Refinery acts,” the statement concluded.
The standoff between Dangote and PENGASSAN marks a new chapter in the growing tension between organised labour and private investors in Nigeria’s energy sector. Observers say the development could test the federal government’s ability to balance industrial rights with national economic interest.
As the country watches closely, the refinery has vowed to continue its operations within the framework of law, while urging all stakeholders to act responsibly to prevent disruptions that could plunge millions into hardship.
Samuel Aina