The Concerned Nigerian Consumers Forum called on the federal government and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate what it described as desperate efforts by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to tarnish the image of Dangote Petroleum Refinery a $20 billion private refinery that is viewed as pivotal to Nigeria’s energy independence ambition.
In a statement signed on its behalf by president, Comrade Olabisi Taiwo, and secretary, Dr. Justice Akani Alikor, the forum stated that it was concerned about PENGASSAN’s threat to picket the refinery over alleged mass sackings. It warned that this would take the country back to the days of fuel scarcity, economic uncertainty, and national embarrassment.
The group claimed the union has a long history of frustrating reforms in Nigeria’s energy sector. “PENGASSAN, in conjunction with NUPENG, was among the force that brought down Nigeria’s public refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. They frustrated reforms, opposed privatisation, and paralysed fuel supply with strikes activities that resulted in the decline of these refineries,” the statement claimed.
Reiterating the significance of the Dangote Refinery, which is the world’s largest single-train refinery with a 650,000 barrels per day capacity, the forum stated that the refinery is designed to end fuel importation, stabilise prices, and create jobs. It noted that the refinery currently has over 3,000 Nigerians employed and is still recruiting.
The forum rationalised Dangote’s recent staff reorganisation as necessitated by sabotaging activities that threatened refinery operations. It criticised the threats by PENGASSAN despite a subsisting court injunction against industrial action as “union overreach” and disdain for the rule of law.
It also decried the inciting utterances of the union, like the metaphor of a “witch crying in the night,” as reckless and divisive.
Who benefits if the refinery fails? Not the Nigerian people, but fuel importers and rent seekers who benefit from chaos,” the group warned.
The forum urged PENGASSAN to embrace dialogue, adhere to judicial processes, and put national interests over what it termed “irresponsible unionism.” It ended by reiterating its resolve to continue to lend support to stability, progress, and the protection of the refinery as a beacon of hope and a turning point in Nigeria’s troubled energy sector.