September 27, (THEWILL) — The Dangote Petroleum refinery has urged the federal government and Nigerians to call the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to order, following its directive to halt gas supply and shut down all crude oil supply valves to the refinery.
THEWILL reports that PENGASSAN had, in a letter signed on Friday, by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, directed all its members, especially those in the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) branch, to immediately halt gas supply to the multibillion-dollar refinery. It also directed an immediate shutdown of all crude oil supply valves to the refinery, as well as the suspension of loading operations for vessels destined for the facility.
According to the union, the directive was in response to the termination of employment of 800 workers of the refinery who are members of the association.
While the refinery said it was effecting a reorganisation of its workforce to safeguard the company from repeated acts of sabotage, it, however, frowned at the action of PENGASSAN to halt its operations, declaring the act as criminal and economic sabotage against the Nigerian State.
Drawing attention to the unquantifiable and irredeemable hardship the PENGASSAN directive would cause, the refinery, in a statement on Saturday, called on the Federal Government and its security and law enforcement agencies, as well as all Nigerians, to ensure “this criminal, lawless, reckless and irresponsible conduct of PENGASSAN” is halted.
Titled ‘PENGASSAN AND ITS LAWLESS DIRECTIVE”, the statement read: “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 the 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 effectively immediately” and “all chairmen (of the PENGASSAN branch) on this summons 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 to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to Dangote Refinery or at all. Besides, it constitutes criminal conduct for PENGASSAN or its members to disrupt and/or interfere howsoever, 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 bring 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 lawlessness and embraced criminal Conduct and path that leads to mayhem directive aforementioned.
“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 circumstances 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 be qualified 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-national. 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 over 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 have led to its directive.”
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