The Dangote refinery has re-employed the engineers sacked last month during the crisis between it and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.
Our correspondent reliably gathered that the engineers were now being posted to Borno, Zamfara, Benue and others.
The engineers, some of whom were still graduate trainees during their sack, were invited to pick up their re-employment/redeployment letters.
The workers, who did not want to be mentioned because of how sensitive the matter is, told our correspondent that some were sent to a coal mine in Benue and concrete road construction sites in Borno and Ebonyi states, as well as the rice plants in Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
They were expected to report at their new places of assignment within 14 days, or they would lose the jobs.
Sources within the Dangote group confirmed the development to our correspondent.
āThey basically re-employed all of us to these places, under Dangote Projects,ā one of the workers told The PUNCH.
One of the letters sighted by our correspondent was titled āOffer of Trainee Engagementā with a letterhead that shows Dangote Projects Limited.
It reads partly, āBased on your performance at the assessment and subsequent interviews held with you, we are pleased to engage you as Engineer Trainee (Mechanical Engineering) for the coal project we are executing at Okpokwu, Benue State.
āThis engagement shall be subject to the following conditions: You will report to your work location within 14 days upon receipt of this letter.
āYou will undergo classroom training and hands-on training in the construction, commissioning and operation for our Coal Project at Okpokwu, Benue State. Your training will be for a period of two years, and it will be reviewed periodically. You will be required to submit reports on your learning and progress. The objective of the training is to impart to you skills and to enable you to take up a position of responsibility in the organisation.
āBoth the company and you can terminate the trainee engagement by giving one monthās notice or payment of one monthās salary in lieu of notice. We welcome you to the Dangote Group.ā
The letters were signed by the Chief General Manager, Human Asset Management, Femi Adekunle.
While some have gone to Dangoteās office in Ikeja for their letters, others said they were told by the leadership of PENGASSAN to hold on as discussions were still ongoing.
The workers expressed concerns over their deployment to far-away places, especially places known for insecurity.
āThe issue with the re-employment is that, firstly, thereās no address to report to on that letter. No office to report to at the states we were posted to. Secondly, those are security hot zones.
āThirdly, in the letter, it is stated that if you donāt report within 14 days, your employment will be terminated, but no office location was given, and they donāt exist when we checked on Google Maps. So, if we accept the letter, we are basically terminating our employment by ourselves because thereās no office in those states to report to. PENGASSAN has basically told us not to accept the letters. We should let them continue with their talks,ā they told The PUNCH.
However, an official of the Dangote Group said the agreement was to redeploy the workers to other business units under the group, either within or outside the country.
Recall that PENGASSAN shut down oil and gas facilities one month ago over allegations that 800 refinery workers were fired for volunteering to be members of the union.
But the Dangote refinery said it only sacked a few workers who were sabotaging the facility, tagging it a reorganisation.
Oil and gas workers went on 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 peace as the Dangote Group was asked to redeploy the sacked workers.
Sources within the Dangote Group had earlier told our correspondent that the company was ready to redeploy the engineers to its sugar and cement plants.
It was learnt that the company would also recruit new engineers to replace the redeployed ones, and the redeployment would be a huge loss to the company.
But some of the engineers decried the plan to redeploy them to sugar, cement and other business units under the Dangote Group.
The workers said the company was victimising them for unionisation.
Speaking on Sunday, the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the company would employ 65,000 workers for construction works as the expansion of the refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day began.
It is yet to be known whether or not some of the sacked engineers would be reabsorbed for the expansion, especially as they were accused of attempting to sabotage the refinery 22 times, a claim the affected workers have denied.
Dangote Flags PIA Amendment To Unlock Refining Potential
Africaās richest man and President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has thrown his weight behind the proposed amendment of the Petroleum Industry Act, saying it would create more opportunities for local refining and strengthen Nigeriaās oil and gas sector.
Dangote said this during a question-and-answer session at the press conference to mark the official announcement on the expansion of the Dangote Refinery from 650,000 barrels to 1.4 million barrels per day. He said the move to revisit the PIA would āopen up a lotā for the industry.
Dangote said that the review was necessary to ensure that the law reflects the realities of Nigeriaās downstream operations and supports indigenous investments.
He said the planned review of the Petroleum Industry Act would unlock new opportunities and address grey areas in the current legislation.
According to him, the existing provisions of the Act already empower international oil companies and regulators to make certain adjustments that, if properly implemented, could further strengthen the oil and gas sector.
He said, āThe opening of the Petroleum Industry Act by revisiting the PIA through the amendment will open up a lot. There are other areas where it allowed the IOCs and the regulators to tinker with something, which I think will help.ā
He explained that with renewed presidential support and ongoing policy reforms, the amendment would ensure that the right provisions are captured to promote domestic refining and energy security.
Dangote noted that the policy framework already stipulates that only crude oil unsuitable for local refining should be exported but lamented that the directive has not been strictly enforced.
He accused some producers of exploiting the āwilling buyer, willing sellerā policy to export crude that could otherwise be refined within Nigeria.
While acknowledging the importance of market freedom, the industrialist stressed that the willing buyer and willing seller arrangement should apply primarily to producers operating within Nigeria, not offshore trading companies.
āRight now, with this new presidential support and also the policies, we will also make sure that it captures the right things. Because it is already in the policy that only crude that cannot be refined in Nigeria should be exported to other countries, which I think is not being followed aggressively, because they are hiding under the willing buyer and willing seller.
āOf course, there should be a willing buyer and a willing seller, but it should be the company that is producing her and not a trading company outside Nigeriaās shores,ā he added.
The Dangote refinery started operations in 2024, significantly reducing Nigeriaās years of dependence on fuel importation.
The expansion project would make it the largest single-train refinery in the world upon completion.
He reiterated his groupās commitment to helping Nigeria achieve self-sufficiency in petroleum products and reduce the nationās dependence on imports.
The Petroleum Industry Act, signed into law in August 2021 after nearly two decades of legislative delay, was hailed as a landmark reform for Nigeriaās oil and gas industry. It consolidated multiple laws into a single framework to promote transparency, attract investment, and ensure fair returns for both the government and investors.
However, four years after its enactment, stakeholders have raised concerns about certain provisions, particularly those relating to host community funds, fiscal terms, and the operational autonomy of regulatory bodies.
In recent months, the Federal Government signalled its intention to amend parts of the Act to address emerging realities, including the global energy transition, local refining incentives, and Nigeriaās push toward value addition in-country.
The proposed amendment is expected to focus on improving domestic refining policies, clarifying royalty structures, and strengthening environmental and governance provisions.
The PIA amendments also propose shifting certain powers from NNPCL to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and vesting sole ownership of NNPCL in the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.
However, this has been rejected by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, as well as the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers.
The two unions warned that the move to allegedly amend the Petroleum Industry Act and remove the running of oil and gas from the NNPCL could endanger the countryās economic stability, weaken its oil industry, and jeopardise the welfare of workers.
They stated that the policies are dangerous and capable of bankrupting the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The oil workers urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene and halt the plan.
The proposed amendment to the Petroleum Industry Act has advanced to the Senate stage as of October 2025. However, the bill is still undergoing legislative consideration and has not yet been passed or signed into law, marking it as a work in progress within the National Assembly.
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