The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has tackled the Presidency over comments by Vice President Kashim Shettima condemning its industrial action over a rift with the Dangote refinery.
PENGASSAN told The PUNCH on Monday that it would take the same action if its members were sacked again.
This comes as some individuals staged a protest in Kaduna, accusing PENGASSAN of attempting to sabotage the Dangote refinery.
PENGASSAN had last week shut down critical oil and gas facilities over allegations that Dangote refinery sacked 800 workers who joined the union. But the Dangote refinery said it only sacked a few workers who were sabotaging the facility, saying this was part of the company’s reorganisation.
But oil and gas workers embarked on a strike in defence of their colleagues, causing the nation losses in oil and gas production as well as a drop in power generation.
The intervention of the Federal Government restored normalcy as PENGASSAN suspended the strike on Wednesday after the Dangote Group was asked to redeploy the sacked workers to other business units.
Despite the suspension of the strike that caused queues in filling stations, the price of cooking gas has yet to return to about N900 per kg, as it still sells for N2,000 in Lagos and other places as of Monday.
Speaking on Monday at the opening of the 2025 Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, Shettima described Dangote as an institution and a pillar of Nigeria’s economic development. He warned that Nigeria is greater than PENGASSAN, and no one should hold the country to ransom.
“Aliko Dangote is not an individual; he’s an institution, and he’s a leading light in Nigeria’s economic parliament,” the Vice President said.
“And how we treat this gentleman will determine how outsiders will judge us. If he had invested $10bn in Microsoft, in Amazon, or in Google, he probably might be worth $70 to $80bn by now. But he opted to invest in his country, and we owe it to future generations to jealously protect, promote, and defend the interests of this great Nigeria.
“I wish to call for caution, retrospection, and a deeper sense of patriotism from both labour and the organised private sector in defining and improving the relationship between labour and industry in the interest of maintaining our steadily improving economic fortunes. It’s not about holding the whole nation to ransom because of a minor labour dispute.
“Nigeria is greater than PENGASSAN. Nigeria is greater than every one of us,” Shettima emphasised.
Reacting, the National President of PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, said the nation was bigger than Dangote and the Presidency as well.
According to Osifo, PENGASSAN had a mandate to protect the jobs of its members sacked by the Dangote refinery for joining the association. This mandate, he said, would be discharged whenever the need arises.
“Of course, the nation is bigger than PENGASSAN, the way it’s bigger than Dangote and the Presidency. We have a mandate to protect the jobs of our members, which we will discharge whenever the need arises,” Osifo told The PUNCH.
Osifo, who doubles as the President of the Trade Union Congress, stressed that if the same situation that led to the sack of its workers occurred again, it would deploy the same strike action to address it.
“Should this same event occur again tomorrow, our approach will be the same,” he stated.
Asked for his reaction to social media comments that the Federal Government might be pushed to dissolve PENGASSAN because a strike by its members threatened energy security, Osifo responded, “Does the law prohibit workers’ right to strike?”
Similarly, the General Secretary of PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, said, “Is Nigeria not bigger than any individual or institution?”
Also speaking, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, said the Federal Government would not relent in its support for domestic production as part of efforts to stabilise the economy and sustain growth.
“The next focus of government is sustaining the reform for achieving growth and development. Inflationary expectations are on the decline, and we shall continue to support domestic production,” he said.
Bagudu explained that reforms introduced in May 2023 had helped avert fiscal collapse, ease macroeconomic pressures, and strengthen resilience.
He said the removal of fuel subsidies, deregulation of the foreign exchange market, tighter borrowing discipline, and the naira-for-crude policy were bold choices that laid the foundation for stability.
The minister added that reforms were beginning to yield results, with GDP growth improving to 3.4 per cent in 2024 and further strengthening into 2025.
According to him, the government is prioritising agriculture, manufacturing, and infrastructure to sustain the downward trend in inflation and ease the cost of living.
He stressed that expanding access to credit, mechanisation, storage, and transportation remained critical.
Bagudu projected GDP growth of 4.6 per cent in 2025 and said the upcoming National Development Plan 2026–2030 targets a $1tn economy by 2030, anchored on sustained reforms, diversified revenue, and a stronger domestic production base.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, further said the Federal Government was determined to ensure that trade policies were translated into practical outcomes that boosted exports, created jobs, and embedded Nigeria firmly in global value chains.
“The question is not just about policy ambition but about delivery. How does Nigeria translate trade policy from impact to practice, so that within the next three years, exporters can begin to feel the impact? Talk is cheap, and it is time to move from words to results,” she said.
Oduwole disclosed that the government had taken concrete steps to deepen trade integration across Africa.
She noted that Nigeria was the first country to implement the five-year review of the African Continental Free Trade Area, inaugurating a central coordination committee in the second quarter of 2025 to provide a clear roadmap for stakeholders.
“We submitted our tariff schedules and indicated interest to serve as the territorial champion under AfCFTA, and that was announced in February. We are aligning private sector dynamism with public reform to ensure Nigeria is not left behind,” she added.
According to her, the ministry has negotiated with countries including Uganda and Ecuador, identifying opportunities for Nigerian businesses in apparel, light manufacturing, and cosmetics.
On structural barriers such as high trade costs, congested ports, and export rejections, Oduwole said the government was working on reforms to cut costs by as much as 75 per cent, streamline agencies, and strengthen standards.
“It is about taking policy from paper to practice and ensuring that our exporters and manufacturers feel the impact. That is the practical work we have been doing in the last 10 to 11 months,” she said.
In his opening address, the Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Olaniyi Yusuf, warned that the way the country treated its domestic investors would determine the confidence of foreign investors in committing long-term capital to Nigeria.
He cited persistent inflationary pressures, high debt service obligations, and subdued investor confidence as major obstacles to inclusive growth.
According to him, Nigeria is currently in the stabilisation phase, but he cautioned that progress could be lost if reforms were not deepened.
“Stabilisation has given us breathing space, but it is not the destination. We must consolidate and accelerate reforms deliberately to avoid sliding backwards,” he said.
The NESG chairman outlined seven areas that should guide reform consolidation, including industrialisation, infrastructure, investor confidence, fiscal sustainability, inclusion, institutional strengthening, and security.
He added that micro, small, and medium enterprises must be supported with affordable finance, stable power, and technology to drive industrial growth.
He emphasised that policies must be inclusive and felt in households through jobs, healthcare, education, and social protection.
“Dead businesses don’t employ workers, they don’t pay salaries, and they don’t pay taxes,” he warned, stressing that regulators must enable, not stifle, private sector growth.
Yusuf urged policymakers to send a clear signal of credibility and trust. “Nigeria must say clearly: we will protect, not picket, investors,” he said, calling for a national framework anchored on industrialisation, infrastructure, investment, inclusion, and institutions to guide the 2026–2030 National Development Plan.