Dangote/PENGASSAN Rift: Don’t Fight A War You Can’t Win – Economist Tells Unions

An economist, Ken Ife, has cautioned the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) against engaging in an industrial war that it cannot against the Dangote Group.

He stated this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday while reacting to the disagreement between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and PENGASSAN over unionisation and the sack of some Nigerian workers by the company.

“My advice to labour is: don’t join a fight you cannot win. Don’t try to destroy a refinery that is systemic, strategic, and that protects national interests. You can’t do that,” he said.

Right To Hire, Fire

The professor lamented that while Nigeria’s foreign direct investment had melted away, the nation’s refineries were not functional despite the huge amount of money spent to revive them.

“Our foreign direct investment has melted away; I don’t even think we will get up to $2 billion this year, as against $20 billion.

“Even the $10 billion that the NNPC collected to do the refineries for 10 years came to nothing. They collect 3.5 billion from the securitisation of our five-year revenue, and the refineries are not producing; they are shut down,” Ife said.

The economist also argued that employers shouldn’t be denied the right to hire and fire.

“The contentions are that the unionisation and workers’ rights were being opposed by Dangote. That is not true because Dangote came out to say it supports workers’ rights to unionisation, but those rights are voluntary.

“The second one is that Dangote is embarking on anti-labour practices; they (Dangote) have also resolved those, and we haven’t got any evidence that they were selectively targeting those and restraining them from joining (a union).

“I don’t know about any labour laws in the world where you have democracy and free markets, where employers are denied the right to hire and fire. And I don’t know one where unions decide who gets hired and fired,” he said.

‘Go To Court’

According to him, it is not justifiable for the union to jeopardise the lives of millions of Nigerians for the 800 workers reportedly sacked by grounding the economy.

He also said he did not see anything wrong with the timing of the sacking of the Nigerian workers by the refinery.

“These unions are children of the law, and you cannot live above the law. You protect the rights of your members and fight for their rights.

“If you have any issues, go to the industrial court. That is your first port of call; you don’t take the laws into your hands,” Ife stated.

Labour Dispute, Nationwide Strike

PENGASSAN had last week directed its members to halt gas supply to Dangote Petroleum Refinery with immediate effect, accusing the refinery’s management of disengaging unionised workers and embarking on a “mission of misinformation and propaganda” instead of engaging meaningfully with the union.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery condemned the plan to halt crude supply to the refinery, describing as a “brazen, albeit shocking, display of lawlessness and criminality” by PENGASSAN.

It also said the union lacked the right to direct its branches to “cut off” gas and crude oil supplies to the refinery.

But the union, in a circular issued after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2025, and signed by General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, later directed its members nationwide to withdraw their services.

It accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation conventions by dismissing the workers for joining the association.

Worried by the impact of the industrial action on the economy, the Federal Government on Sunday urged PENSASSAN to reconsider its proposed strike over its dispute with Dangote Refinery.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, who made this plea, said the government had taken steps to bring both parties to a roundtable to stop their dispute from escalating further. (Channels Tv)