• Members raise alarm over $20bn refinery disruption, loss of 200,000 barrels of crude
By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives has called for urgent measures to protect strategic private investments in Nigeria from disruptive and unlawful industrial actions by labour unions.
This followed a motion jointly sponsored by Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa and Rep. Abdussamad Dasuki on the need to protect strategic private investments from adversarial unionism, following the recent face-off between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Refinery in the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
The lawmakers noted that the strike action by PENGASSAN disrupted operations at the $20 billion Dangote Refinery — the largest single-train refinery in the world — leading to a loss of about 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day over three days.
They expressed concern that the disruption worsened the fuel scarcity across the country, causing long queues and severe hardship for citizens.
Doguwa and Dasuki emphasized that the Dangote Refinery is a strategic national investment critical to Nigeria’s energy security, job creation, and foreign exchange conservation. They cited provisions of Section 18(5) of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Act, which exempts Free Trade Zones from regular labour laws, noting that actions breaching this protection threaten the nation’s investment climate.
The House, adopting the motion, urged the Federal Ministries of Labour and Employment, Industry, Trade and Investment, and Justice to develop a national framework to safeguard strategic private investments from unlawful union disruptions.
It also directed the Ministry of Justice and the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) to ensure strict enforcement of Section 18(5) of the NEPZA Act, while mandating the Committees on Labour, Industry, and Justice to engage stakeholders in developing a balanced framework that protects both workers’ rights and vital investments.
