Lekki, Lagos – The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has unleashed a scathing rebuke against the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), branding its recent directive to halt gas and crude oil supplies to the refinery as a "lawless" and "criminal" act.

In a fiery statement released on Saturday via its official X account, the conglomerate accused PENGASSAN of overstepping legal boundaries and plunging Nigeria’s industrial harmony into chaos, accusing the union of sabotaging the nation’s economic lifeline with impunity.

The controversy erupted after PENGASSAN, in a circular dated September 26, 2025, instructed its members across branches including TotalEnergies, Seplat, Chevron, Shell Nigeria Gas, and the Nigerian Gas Company (NGIC) to immediately cut off gas and crude oil supplies to the Dangote Refinery.

The union’s move, signed by General Secretary Comrade Lumumba Ighotemu Okugbawa, also demanded the shutdown of crude oil supply valves and a halt to vessel loading operations, citing alleged victimization of workers seeking to unionize. This directive has now triggered a bitter war of words, with Dangote Group labeling it an "abject display of lawlessness and criminality" that lacks any legal grounding.

In its statement, titled PENGASSAN and Its Lawless Directive, Dangote Group asserts that no Nigerian law empowers PENGASSAN to issue such orders, nor does any statute support the union’s branches in disrupting supply chains to the refinery.

The company further alleges that PENGASSAN’s actions constitute a criminal interference with existing contracts between the refinery and its vendors, many of which were negotiated with third-party suppliers—not the union itself.

"PENGASSAN has no right whatsoever to disrupt and/or interfere with the performance of those contracts," the statement declares, accusing the union of abandoning its earlier promise of legal action in favor of "mayhem and anarchy."

The refinery’s management, still reeling from ongoing labor disputes and accusations of worker mistreatment, framed the directive as a direct attack on Nigeria’s economic stability.

"This is a brazen, albeit shocking display of lawlessness," the statement reads, pointing to PENGASSAN’s press release on September 26, which vowed to pursue legal recourse against the refinery’s alleged anti-union practices.

Dangote Group argues that the union’s swift pivot to a supply cutoff exposes its "complete disavowal" of lawful processes, suggesting a reckless escalation that threatens the refinery’s operations and the nation’s fuel supply.

The standoff comes amid heightened tensions following reports of workforce reorganizations at the refinery, which Dangote has defended as a necessary response to sabotage, while dismissing claims of mass layoffs.

PENGASSAN and its sister union, NUPENG, have long accused the refinery of intimidating workers and refusing to recognize union rights, a dispute that saw intervention from federal ministers and the Department of State Services earlier this year. However, today’s directive marks a dramatic escalation, with the potential to cripple the refinery’s output—a facility touted as Nigeria’s hope to end decades of imported fuel dependence.

The company’s response, however, offers no olive branch, instead doubling down with a call for PENGASSAN to "come with clean hands" and respect Nigeria’s rule of law.

As the clock ticks, the nation watches anxiously. The refinery’s ability to maintain production hangs in the balance, with potential fuel shortages looming if PENGASSAN’s directive holds.

Critics argue that both sides bear responsibility—Dangote for alleged labor abuses and PENGASSAN for its heavy-handed tactics—but the government’s silence is deafening.

With no immediate mediation in sight, this industrial clash risks spiraling into a full-blown crisis, leaving Nigerians to bear the cost of a battle waged by giants with little regard for the public they claim to serve.