Redeployment Standoff: Dangote Refinery Cuts Off Salaries, Escalating Rift With PENGASSAN

The dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Group has intensified following the refinery’s decision to stop paying the monthly salaries of engineers disengaged in September after they refused redeployment to several states across the country.

The affected engineers, who spoke to The PUNCH on condition of anonymity, said the company attempted to reassign them to various Dangote Group projects unrelated to their original roles at the refinery. These new locations reportedly included a coal mine in Benue, concrete road construction sites in Borno and Ebonyi, as well as rice processing facilities in Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

While a small number of workers reportedly accepted the redeployment, the majority rejected the postings, relying on assurances from PENGASSAN that ongoing negotiations with the company would resolve the matter.

According to the workers, Dangote Group initially reduced their wages in October to signal its stance, before fully withholding their November salaries. A senior company official, who confirmed the development to The PUNCH, argued that it made no sense to continue paying workers who refused the alternative placements offered.

“If a newspaper terminates an employee’s services, and even offers an alternative job but the individual declines it, will the company still keep paying them?” the official asked, noting that the organisation considered the redeployment a fair option.

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Content of the Redeployment Letters

In October, the affected engineers were invited to the Dangote office in Ikeja to collect new employment letters. One of the letters, titled “Offer of Trainee Engagement,” was issued under the name of Dangote Projects Limited.

The letter stated that the workers were being offered trainee positions at a coal project in Okpokwu, Benue State, following performance assessments and interviews. It outlined a two-year training period involving classroom and hands-on sessions on construction, commissioning, and operations, with periodic reviews. The letter required the engineers to report to their designated locations within 14 days of receipt.

Engineers Raise Concerns

However, many of the affected workers questioned the authenticity and feasibility of the postings. They said the letters did not specify any office address or reporting point in the assigned states. Some also argued that the locations listed were known security hotspots, making the offer unsafe and impractical.

“The letter did not contain any physical address. There’s no office to report to in those states, and when we checked on Google Maps, these locations didn’t exist. Accepting the offer would mean terminating our employment by ourselves, because we would have no place to report to within the 14-day window,” one of the engineers said.

They added that based on the union’s guidance, they declined the redeployment and awaited further dialogue.

PENGASSAN Reacts

Speaking at a briefing last week, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, confirmed that the union is continuing negotiations with the Dangote refinery management. He assured affected members that the union is working toward a resolution and has not abandoned the case.

Workers, meanwhile, insist that the stoppage of their salaries amounts to “victimisation,” arguing that they had legitimate concerns about safety, clarity of assignment, and compliance with labour standards.

As discussions continue, the standoff has widened the rift between PENGASSAN and the Dangote Group, raising fresh questions about labour relations and deployment practices within the company’s rapidly expanding industrial operations.