The $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reportedly halted monthly salaries for several engineers dismissed in September — those who refused to accept redeployment. The affected engineers, previously laid off during a union conflict with Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), were allegedly offered transfers to worksites in states such as Zamfara, Borno, Benue, Sokoto, Ebonyi, Kebbi and Niger.
According to sources who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue, some workers were supposed to be moved to a coal mine in Benue, concrete road-construction sites in Borno and Ebonyi, and rice plants in Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
The management of Dangote Group reportedly warned in October by cutting wages for those who declined redeployment — and by November those salaries were stopped entirely. A company official explained that it “would no longer continue paying those who rejected the redeployment offers.”
Meanwhile, PENGASSAN says it is actively engaging the Dangote Group for a peaceful resolution — urging for dialogue rather than another nationwide strike that could jeopardise energy-sector stability.
Several issues remain at the centre of the dispute:
- The engineers argue the redeployments — often to remote or high-risk sites — were offered without adequate consultation, and some consider the new postings unsafe or unworkable.
- Dangote claims the move was part of a “reorganisation” after alleged sabotage incidents, and insists only a small fraction of staff were affected — not a wholesale purge.
- A previous agreement — brokered by the federal government — had stipulated that dismissed workers should be redeployed within the group “with no loss of pay.”
As suspicions, financial hardship and labour-law questions swirl, PENGASSAN appears to be banking on negotiations to avoid a repeat of the September strike.
