Oshiomhole Slams PENGASSAN for Escalating Dangote Refinery Dispute
Former Nigeria Labour Congress president and senator, Adams Oshiomhole, has criticised the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria for escalating its disagreement with the Dangote Refinery into a nationwide shutdown of oil facilities, describing the move as hasty and unfair to other workers.
Speaking in an interview with Arise Television on Friday, Oshiomhole said while unions have the right to defend workers, they must do so in ways that do not create wider economic hardship.
“I think that in seeking to protect a particular set of workers, you do not then risk the jobs of several other workers. When you are pursuing a dispute, the tools you deploy must be such that they do not undermine other people’s jobs,” he said.
Oshiomhole noted that the oil union’s decision to shut down facilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other firms because of issues at Dangote was ill-considered.
“I suddenly witnessed long queues at filling stations and people came to me to ask, ‘why are we not at work today, what has happened to the oil industry?’ And the reason was that PENGASSAN had decided that NNPC be shut down, several other companies shut down, all because of a problem in one refinery,” he said.
Drawing from his experience as NLC president, Oshiomhole argued that disputes should be directed at the specific employer involved.
“We had a big battle with Union Bank of Nigeria over their policy on married couples working together. But even when we had the capacity to shut down all the banks, we didn’t. We recognised that the alleged offence of Union Bank could not be said to apply to others,” he recalled.
He also cautioned against rushing into strikes without considering their broader impact.
“In pursuing war, you have to recognise that the tools you deploy must not hurt innocent people, like the tomato sellers who cannot get fuel to move their goods because there is a quarrel between one refinery and one union,” Oshiomhole said.
While affirming that the right to unionise is fundamental, he urged balance.
“Freedom of association is not just a constitutional right, it is a God-given right. But with that freedom comes responsibility, both the employer and employee must exercise their rights in a way that is fair,” he said.
Oshiomhole added that new private sector investors like Dangote should be given time to stabilise before facing intense labour action.
“An employer has to exist, mature and be strong enough to guarantee good-paying jobs. If you cripple a business before it even finds its feet, you are also destroying the jobs you claim to protect,” he warned.
Dangote Refinery, commissioned in May 2023 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, is Africa’s largest single-train refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
PENGASSAN, one of the country’s two major oil unions, had last month ordered members to shut down operations in protest against perceived anti-labour activities at the refinery.
The action triggered fuel queues across several states, drawing criticism from government officials and industry players who warned it could worsen Nigeria’s energy supply chain.