PENGASSAN Denies Signing Agreement To Suspend Strike

PENGASSAN, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, has clarified that it did not sign the communiqué that ended its recent strike against Dangote Refinery.

The union suspended its nationwide strike on Wednesday after government intervention, but insisted its concerns were not fully addressed.

PENGASSAN president, Festus Osifo, said the document presented at the meeting was not an agreement.

“If you see that communiqué, we did not sign it. Normally, it is supposed to be signed by three parties.

We did not sign because we felt that some things in it were not okay with us,” he said.

Osifo stressed that the statement was only a communication from the Minister of Labour and Employment, acting as chief conciliator.

“When we subjected it to our NEC, we had to decide on priorities. Some media houses claimed we were only interested in check-up dues.

“That is false. What we prioritised was how our members would return to work and provide for their families.”

The union president said PENGASSAN’s position was clear: “Take the people back to the refinery.”

He added that Dangote initially refused to reabsorb the disengaged workers until the government pushed for a compromise.

Osifo dismissed Dangote’s claims of sabotage by the sacked employees.

He emphasised that the union’s fight was not about itself but about Nigerian workers whose employments were abruptly terminated for exercising their right to association.

“The release that Dangote made on workers sabotaging the economy was totally incorrect.

If we had allowed that sabotage tag to stand, those 800 people would not be able to secure jobs in the future.

“That stigma would remain forever,” he lamented, noting that “Clearing that was a very big win. We are not perturbed in any way.”

The PENGASSAN boss added, “If Dangote does not do the needful, our tools are always available.

We will never get tired of struggling for what is right. We have been around for 50 years before the Dangote Refinery came on stream.”

Meanwhile, recall that on Wednesday, the PENGASSAN President announced the suspension of the strike in Abuja.

He said the decision followed meetings with the National Security Adviser and Dangote management.

Osifo admitted “grey areas” remained in the communiqué but stressed that the union suspended the action in good faith.

He warned that the strike would resume without notice if the refinery failed to honour the resolutions.

Meanwhile, the National Industrial Court had issued a seven-day interim injunction restraining PENGASSAN from continuing the strike.

Justice Emmanuel Subilim ruled that disruption would cause irreparable damage and scheduled a hearing for 13 October.

Despite this, the union insists it will not hesitate to resume action if Dangote fails to honour the resolutions.