The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has clarified that it did not sign the communiqué that ended its recent strike against Dangote Refinery, insisting that its concerns were not fully addressed despite suspending the nationwide action on Wednesday following government intervention.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, PENGASSAN president Festus Osifo explained that the document presented at the meeting was not an agreement.
“If you see that communiqué, we did not sign it. Normally, it is supposed to be signed by three parties. We did not sign because we felt that some things in it were not okay with us,” he said, adding that the statement was merely a communication from the Minister of Labour and Employment, acting as chief conciliator.
Osifo stressed that the union’s priorities were not limited to check-up dues, as some media outlets suggested. “What we prioritised was how our members would return to work and provide for their families,” he said.
He reiterated PENGASSAN’s position: “Take the people back to the refinery.” The union president noted that Dangote initially refused to reabsorb the disengaged workers until the government intervened to push for a compromise.
Osifo also dismissed claims by Dangote that the sacked employees had sabotaged the refinery. “The release that Dangote made on workers sabotaging the economy was totally incorrect. If we had allowed that sabotage tag to stand, those 800 people would not be able to secure jobs in the future. That stigma would remain forever,” he said, calling the clearing of that accusation a “very big win.”
The PENGASSAN president added, “If Dangote does not do the needful, our tools are always available. We will never get tired of struggling for what is right. We have been around for 50 years before the Dangote Refinery came on stream.”
