FG meets Dangote refinery over ‘concerns’ raised by PENGASSAN

By Abubakar Yunusa

The federal government has met with representatives of Dangote refinery over concerns raised by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

According to a statement by Mohammed Manga, director, information and public relations for the ministry of finance, on Sunday, a meeting was held between Dangote refinery, the sub-committee on the crude and refined product sales in naira initiative, Wale Edun, minister of finance, and Zacch Adedeji, the chairman of the committee and the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The meeting also had in attendance Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning and the representatives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Manga said they met to review developments in the downstream oil sector, including the naira-for-crude initiative.

The meeting, chaired by the minister of finance, noted two recent issues.

According to the statement, they considered the “purported suspension of the naira-for-crude oil arrangement by the Dangote refinery, which has since been amicably resolved, and the concerns raised by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) regarding the Dangote Refinery”.

The statement noted that the sub-committee reaffirmed that there will be no disruption in the supply of refined petroleum products across the country.

For the avoidance of doubt, the committee also “reassured that the crude oil for the Naira initiative will continue”.

“It also assured that all outstanding issues, particularly the dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Dangote Refinery, are being addressed with urgency and in good faith,” the statement reads.

According to the statement, the federal government remains fully committed to ensuring energy security, protecting consumers, and maintaining stability in the domestic petroleum products market.

On September 26, the Dangote refinery suspended the sale of petrol in naira, citing the depletion of its crude-for-naira allocation, but resumed the sale on Saturday after the federal government’s intervention.

In another development, PENGASSAN instructed its members to embark on a nationwide strike immediately over Dangote refinery’s dismissal of “over 800 workers”.

The Dangote refinery had confirmed sacking some workers, saying that “only a small number were affected” in what it described as a reorganisation exercise.