Dangote Petroleum Refinery has expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his role in the resolutuon of the dispute between the refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
It also commended Office of the National Security Adviser, the ministers of labour and employement and other top government officials who play a role in the resolving what it described as the “disruptive actions of PENGASSAN” against the refinery.
“Dangote Refinery is grateful to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, for his intervention, through his ministers and senior officials, which resulted in the abatement of the disruptive actions of PENGASSAN against the Refinery.
“We remain very grateful to these officials for their patriotism and national service,” it said in a statement on Sunday.
The private refinery thanked Nigerians for their supportive voices and words of encouragement.
“You gave us hope and reinforced our belief in the Nigerian nation and people as the backbone of our enterprise.
“Be assured that we would continue to work for and in your interest and persist in always protecting that interest against rent seekers, economic saboteurs and economic squatters.
“To our loyal workers, who ensured that our operations were not disrupted even for a second, we thank and appreciate you,” the company stated.
It also assured Nigerians that it would not relent in serving the nation faithfully and diligently through the uninterrupted production of petroleum products.
“Our commitment to the Nigerian nation and our pact with its people remain undiluted, undiminished and unalterable notwithstanding the distractions from our detractors and the saboteurs in our midst,” the statement added.
Labour Dispute
The Federal Government last Wednesday said that the industrial dispute between PENGASSAN and the management of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery had been resolved.
The reconciliation meeting led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, was moved to the Office of the NSA after it ended earlier in a deadlock on.
The meeting followed the notice to stop gas supply to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the withdrawal of services by PENGASSAN.
The rift centred around unionisation and the alleged sack of over 800 Nigerian workers by the refinery, leading to a nationwide strike by the union.
Also present at the conciliation meeting held at the office of the National Security Adviser were the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha.
Others were the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Following the meeting, PENGASSAN announced the suspension of its industrial action.
