Dangote/PENGASSAN face-off: FG moves to broker truce, urges union to shelve strike

- Appeals to PENGASSAN to shelve strike
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
Indications emerged on Sunday that the Federal Government is making serious efforts to resolve the feud between the Dangote Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN.
Already, the Minister of Labour and Employment Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, has appealed to PENGASSAN to reconsider its proposed strike starting on Monday, September 29, 2025, over its dispute with Dangote Refinery
Vanguard reliably gathered that the Minister has put everything in place for the warring parties to sheathe their swords in the interest of peace.
A highly placed government source told Vanguard that officials from the Ministry of Labour and Employment are working to resolve the contentious issues amicably for a peaceful resolution of the crisis between the two parties.
According to the source, government officials aim to involve all parties in their efforts to resolve the feud.
“The ministry is talking with the Dangote Refinery and the leadership of PENGASSAN and from the discussion, there is no alternative to peace,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, has made a passionate appeal to PENGASSAN to shelve the proposed strike, which is expected to commence today.
The Minister said his Ministry has taken steps to bring both parties to a roundtable to stop their dispute from escalating further.
Dingyadi disclosed that invitations have been extended to both the leadership of PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery management to attend an emergency meeting in his office on Monday for the conciliation of their dispute.
He called on the leadership of PENGASSAN to withdraw the strike declaration, allowing his Ministry to conciliate the dispute in a peaceful atmosphere.
Speaking further, Dingyadi, in a statement issued by Patience Onuobia, Head, Information and Public Relations of the ministry, said: “The Ministry of Labour and Employment, through the Director of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, has extended invitations to the leadership of PENGASSAN and the management of Dangote Refinery to attend a conciliation meeting in my office on Monday.
“I appeal to both parties to be mindful of the importance of the petroleum sector to the country, being the core of her economy. A strike will not only lead to heavy revenue losses by the country but also cause more hardship and difficulties for Nigerians. Consequentially, it will have adverse impacts, both on economic stability and national security.”
The Minister urged the feuding parties to give peace a chance, assuring them that the Federal Government would resolve the dispute amicably to the satisfaction of all the parties involved and in the national interest.
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