Efforts by the Federal Government to broker peace in the dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Group ended in deadlock on Monday, despite marathon negotiations chaired by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Alhaji Muhammad Dingyadi.
The closed-door meeting, held in Abuja and lasting more than nine hours, was convened to address the fallout from the dismissal of over 800 workers by the Dangote Refinery – a move that has triggered a nationwide strike in the oil and gas sector.
Speaking to journalists in the early hours of Tuesday, Minister Dingyadi admitted that although progress had been made, two critical sticking points remained: the reinstatement of the sacked workers and the right to unionise.
“The only issues on the table are the reinstatement of the sacked workers and unionisation. Apart from these, no other matters are lingering,” Dingyadi said.
“We have made a lot of progress, and we are optimistic that by later today, when we resume by 2 p.m., we should be able to arrive at a resolution.”
However, PENGASSAN President, Mr. Festus Osifo, struck a more cautious tone, maintaining that no agreement had been reached and reaffirming the union’s demands.
“Unfortunately, there is no solution for now. All we want is that the 800-plus people who were sent home be reinstated. These people are fathers and mothers, and their careers are at stake,” he said.
Osifo condemned the labelling of some dismissed staff as “saboteurs,” warning that such stigma could irreparably damage their professional futures.
“If they go home like that, there is no other company in Nigeria that will employ them. These are careers that will be damaged if proper remedy is not put in place.”
He stressed that industrial action would continue until the affected workers were reinstated.
“Our position is clear: if you reinstate them now, we will call off our action now. But that reinstatement did not happen. So, as it stands, the strike continues until we reconvene later today.”
Confirming the substance of the union’s claims, Osifo noted that the Dangote Group had already admitted to the dismissals, pointing to official termination letters that had circulated in the media.
“It is not our word against theirs, but what they themselves signed in the communication they released last Thursday,” he said.
Also at the meeting, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, expressed concern about the economic fallout of the prolonged strike.
“We need to limit the damage of this action to the economy. We need gas flowing, we need crude flowing as inputs into production. We do not want the current momentum of growth to be broken.”
He expressed hope that continued dialogue would help resolve the impasse and stabilise the energy sector.
Negotiations are scheduled to resume later today, with stakeholders under pressure to prevent further disruption to Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
