The rift between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Group has widened following the stoppage of monthly salaries to engineers disengaged from the Dangote Refinery after rejecting redeployment offers to various states across the country.
The affected engineers, who were relieved of their duties in September, reportedly declined postings to locations including Zamfara, Borno, Benue, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger and Ebonyi states. According to multiple sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, the redeployments involved assignments outside core refinery operations, ranging from a coal mining project in Benue to concrete road construction sites in Borno and Ebonyi, as well as rice processing plants in Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara.
While a small number of workers accepted the redeployment, many turned down the offers, acting on assurances from PENGASSAN leadership that the matter would be resolved through dialogue with the Dangote Group.
However, the company reportedly signalled a tougher stance in October by reducing the affected engineers’ salaries before completely withholding their November pay. A senior official of the Dangote Group confirmed that salary payments had ceased for workers who rejected the alternative placements.
The official, who requested anonymity due to lack of authorisation to speak publicly, defended the decision, questioning the rationale of paying staff who had refused redeployment. “If an organisation terminates an employee but still offers alternative employment, and the employee rejects it, should the company continue paying the salary?” the official asked.
Documents sighted indicate that in October the engineers were invited to collect letters at the Dangote Group’s Ikeja office. One such letter, titled ‘Offer of Trainee Engagement’ and issued by Dangote Projects Limited, offered engagement as Engineer Trainee (Mechanical Engineering) on a coal project at Okpokwu, Benue State.
The letter stated that the engagement would last two years and include classroom and hands-on training in construction, commissioning and operation of the coal project, with periodic performance reviews. It further directed recipients to report to their assigned locations within 14 days, warning that failure to do so would lead to termination.
Many of the engineers have raised serious concerns about the offer, describing it as unclear and unsafe. They noted that the letters did not specify a physical office address or reporting point in the states they were posted to. Some claimed that attempts to verify the project locations online yielded no tangible results.
Beyond procedural concerns, the engineers cited security risks in some of the designated states, which they described as conflict-prone or high-risk zones. “Accepting the letter feels like terminating our employment ourselves because there’s nowhere to report to and serious security concerns,” one affected engineer said, adding that PENGASSAN had advised members not to accept the offers pending resolution of talks.
PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, confirmed last week that the union remains in active discussions with the Dangote Refinery and its parent group, insisting that engagement and dialogue remain the preferred path to resolving the crisis.
As negotiations continue, the non-payment of salaries has heightened tensions, raising fresh questions about labour relations, worker safety and employer obligations within one of Africa’s largest industrial enterprises.