KEY POINTS
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The Dangote refinery redeployed sacked engineers after PENGASSAN crisis.
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Workers expressed concern over insecurity in new postings.
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The government’s intervention pushed Dangote to recall affected staff.
The Dangote Refinery has reinstated several engineers dismissed last month following a standoff with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, redeploying them to various projects across the country.
Sources told The Punch that the affected engineers, including graduate trainees, were invited to collect re-employment letters and redeployed under Dangote Projects Limited to new assignments in Borno, Zamfara, Benue, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Niger, and Sokoto states.
Engineers sent to high-risk regions
According to internal memos seen by journalists, the engineers are being posted to a mix of coal, cement, and agricultural projects. Some are to report to a coal mine in Benue, while others have been sent to concrete road construction and rice processing sites in northern states.
They are expected to report to their new duty stations within 14 days or risk termination. One letter titled Offer of Trainee Engagement confirmed appointments as “Engineer Trainee (Mechanical Engineering)” at the Okpokwu coal project in Benue State. The letters, signed by the Chief General Manager for Human Asset Management, Femi Adekunle, outlined two years of classroom and on-site training, renewable by performance reviews.
Workers expressed unease over their deployment to regions known for security challenges and the absence of defined office locations in the letters. Some said they found no verifiable Dangote offices in those areas.
Dangote defends redeployment amid labour tension
According to Punch, a company source said the decision aligns with an agreement to redeploy staff to other business units under the Dangote Group, both within and outside Nigeria. However, union leaders urged members not to accept the redeployment until talks conclude, citing safety and procedural gaps.
The crisis began a month ago when PENGASSAN accused the refinery of sacking over 800 workers for union involvement. Dangote Group denied the claim, insisting only a few employees were dismissed for “sabotaging operations.” The dispute led to a nationwide shutdown of oil and gas facilities, disrupting production and power supply before the Federal Government brokered a truce.
The government’s intervention compelled the company to reinstate and redeploy affected engineers. However, some employees have criticised the redeployment, viewing it as punitive rather than corrective.
Amid the controversy, Aliko Dangote announced plans to hire 65,000 additional workers as expansion begins to raise the refinery’s output from 650,000 to 1.4 million barrels per day. It remains unclear whether the redeployed engineers will return to refinery operations, given allegations of repeated sabotage—claims they have denied.
The broader dispute highlights growing tension between labour unions and private refineries under Nigeria’s shifting energy framework. The Dangote refinery, operational since 2024, has become a critical test case for industrial relations in the country’s evolving oil sector.
