Nigerian officials will meet with leaders of the country’s oil workers union on Monday after a strike shut down fuel supply nationwide. The walkout followed the dismissal of 800 workers at Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest refining facility.
According to AP News, The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) called on members to halt services over the weekend. The union described the layoffs as a violation of labor rights, Nigeria’s Constitution, and international conventions.
“We are meeting with government officials this afternoon,” said Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN’s secretary general.
Economic pressure from strike
The strike has frozen operations at major oil and gas facilities. Oil provides more than 80 percent of Nigeria’s revenue, making the disruption especially serious for Africa’s biggest producer. Analysts note that the country’s refineries have long operated far below capacity due to poor maintenance.
Union officials said many of the dismissed workers had recently joined PENGASSAN to demand better pay and safer conditions. One laid-off engineer told the Associated Press he lacked protective gear during two years at the refinery. “I didn’t even receive a face mask,” he said.
Dangote Refinery rejected claims of unfair dismissal, accusing the workers of sabotage. “This exercise became necessary to safeguard the refinery from repeated acts of sabotage that raised safety concerns,” the company said. In a separate statement, it called the strike “lawless” and “criminal.”
The $20 billion refinery, launched in May 2023 by billionaire Aliko Dangote, began production last year. It aims to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on foreign fuel processing and stabilize the nation’s strained foreign exchange market.