Dangote Refinery Slams PENGASSAN Over Supply Cut Orders

Recently, a high-stakes power struggle between Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest industrialist, and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the nation’s most powerful oil union, has pushed Nigeria to the brink of an energy collapse, exposing the fragile architecture of its economy.

Furthermore, the protagonists represent two pillars of Nigerian power. Aliko Dangote is the billionaire founder of the Dangote Group, whose crown jewel,the $20 billion Dangote Refinery,was inaugurated as a national saviour to end Nigeria’s costly reliance on imported petroleum products.

Standing in opposition is PENGASSAN, a union representing senior staff across the oil and gas sector, wielding immense influence by commanding its members within the International Oil Companies (IOCs) that control the country’s flow of crude oil and gas.

Their connection is one of forced symbiosis, Dangote’s refinery depends on IOCs for the crude oil and gas to operate, while PENGASSAN’s members within those IOCs hold the keys to that supply. This interdependency has now become the focal point of a national crisis.

A Shift to the Dollar

The crisis ignited on Monday, September 22, 2025, when the Dangote Refinery issued a terse statement announcing the immediate suspension of petrol sales in the Nigerian Naira.

The refinery, citing the need for “foreign exchange to fund critical imports for its operational viability,” declared that henceforth, all transactions would be conducted in US Dollars. The move was instantly condemned as a betrayal of its core promise to stabilise the domestic economy, with fuel marketers predicting a sharp spike in pump prices and triggering widespread fears of inflation.

PENGASSAN’s Strategic Counterstrike

In a dramatic escalation, PENGASSAN ordered the IOCs to halt all supplies of crude oil and natural gas to the Dangote Refinery. The union justified this drastic measure by stating that the refinery’s dollar-only policy was “anti-people” and would lead to “catastrophic economic hardship for the average Nigerian worker and citizen.”

A senior PENGASSAN official argued, “If the refinery insists on dealing in dollars, then it must pay for its essential inputs in dollars. Since the IOCs we work for also require forex for their operations, we are acting to protect the broader economic interests of Nigeria from a predatory pricing model.” This was not merely a strike; it was a strategic siege designed to silence the refinery’s operations and threaten the national power grid, which depends on gas-fed plants.

The Federal Government’s Scramble to Intervene

Faced with the imminent threat of a nationwide fuel scarcity and a collapse of the power grid, the Federal Government was forced into emergency action. The House of Representatives Committees on Downstream Petroleum Resources convened a frantic session, summoning officials from both sides.

While acknowledging the union’s right to advocate for its members, the committee chairman publicly condemned the method, stating, “The tactic of holding national energy security hostage is condemnable. We cannot allow millions of Nigerians to suffer for a commercial dispute.” Behind the scenes, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources brokered closed-door talks, pressuring both titans to stand down to avert a national catastrophe.

However, while the suspension of naira payments was the immediate trigger, PENGASSAN began the strikes as a direct response to what it perceives as the refinery’s broader disregard for its social contract with Nigeria.

The union framed the refinery’s dollar demand as the ultimate proof that Dangote’s private profit motives were superseding the project’s promised national benefit. For PENGASSAN, the dispute transcended a simple labour issue; it became an ideological battle over whether a private entity of such national strategic importance could operate without accountability to the public it was built to serve.

Public Outcry and Divided Opinions

The Nigerian public has addressed the issue with a mix of anger and anxiety, resulting in sharply divided views. A significant portion of the populace sides with PENGASSAN, viewing the union as a necessary check on corporate overreach. “Dangote built this refinery with our land and our collective hope. He cannot now turn it into a machine to suffocate the people,” a Lagos-based civil society activist commented.

Conversely, others blame the union for reckless brinkmanship. Business leaders and economists have warned that PENGASSAN’s actions could scare away vital foreign investment.

“This sets a dangerous precedent. It shows that any critical private infrastructure can be held ransom, making Nigeria an even riskier bet for capital,”

an investment analyst in Abuja noted. The prevailing public sentiment, however, is one of frustration directed at both parties and a government perceived as weak and reactive.

Briefly, the immediate crisis has been temporarily diffused through government intervention, with the Dangote Refinery resuming naira sales and PENGASSAN suspending its supply blockade. However, this is a fragile peace, not a lasting solution.

The standoff has starkly revealed that Nigeria’s energy future is held hostage by a triumvirate of power;a corporate giant that has become de facto national infrastructure, a labour union that can veto its operations, and a government that can only react to crises, not prevent them. Until the fundamental issues of corporate responsibility, union power, and proactive state regulation are reconciled, Nigeria remains one dispute away from its next great shutdown.

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