The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has dismissed several employees in what it described as a major reorganisation to address sabotage and safety concerns.
The announcement was made on Friday, 25 September, in Lagos by Mr. Femi Adekunle, Chief General Manager of Human Asset Management at Dangote Group.
Adekunle explained that the decision followed multiple cases of sabotage reported across different refinery units, which posed serious risks to operational safety. He said management had no choice but to disengage the affected workers and restructure the refinery’s workforce.
“The employees were instructed to hand over all company property to their line managers and obtain exit clearance,” Adekunle stated in a document confirming the development. He added that the finance department had been directed to compute the benefits and entitlements of the dismissed staff, subject to clearance.
Although the exact number of employees affected was not disclosed, the decision comes amid rising tensions between management and labour unions.
Recently, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), in solidarity with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), threatened to shut down the refinery over management’s refusal to allow tanker drivers and other employees to unionise.
PENGASSAN accused the refinery of blocking union activities, noting that “all diplomatic efforts had failed to resolve the issue.” The union warned that it might have no option but to join NUPENG in halting refinery operations if the standoff persisted.
