The Dangote Refinery has begun re-employing and redeploying several engineers, including graduate trainees, who were dismissed last month following a dispute with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

 

 

The re-engaged workers have been issued new letters and are being reassigned to other Dangote projects across the country, with locations including Borno, Zamfara, Benue, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Niger, and Sokoto States.

 

 

One such letter, titled “Offer of Trainee Engagement” from Dangote Projects Limited, was seen. It offered a position as an Engineer Trainee (Mechanical Engineering) for a coal project in Okpokwu, Benue State.

 

 

The letter, signed by Femi Adekunle, Chief General Manager of Human Asset Management, outlined a two-year classroom and hands-on training program. It also noted that either party could terminate the engagement with one month’s notice or salary in lieu.

 

 

Despite the re-engagement, some engineers have voiced concerns regarding the redeployment, citing insecurity in some of the assigned states and unclear reporting instructions. For instance, one engineer noted a lack of a specific office address or location to report to and the threat of termination if they fail to report within 14 days.

 

 

Consequently, PENGASSAN has reportedly advised its members not to accept the letters until discussions with the company are finalized. A senior official from the Dangote Group, however, clarified that the re-engagement is in line with an agreement with PENGASSAN to redeploy affected staff to other business units both within and outside Nigeria.

 

 

The initial dispute arose after the refinery allegedly dismissed hundreds of workers for attempting to join PENGASSAN. The company denied this, calling the action a “reorganization” and claiming only a few workers were sacked for “sabotaging the facility.”

 

 

 

 

In response, the union temporarily shut down key oil and gas facilities, prompting Federal Government intervention which ultimately directed the Dangote Group to either reinstate or redeploy the affected employees.

 

 

While the company frames the redeployments as an internal restructuring, some workers remain skeptical, viewing the reassignment to distant or insecure locations as punishment for their union activities, a claim that management continues to deny.

 

 

 

 

The new deployments coincide with Group President Aliko Dangote’s announcement of a major expansion of the refinery’s capacity from $650,000$ to $1.4$ million barrels per day, which is expected to create $65,000$ new construction jobs.