A nationwide strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has brought Nigeria’s capital to a standstill — www.naijnaira.com reports.
Key offices in Abuja, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority, were shut as workers enforced the union’s directive.
According to Nigerian Tribune, the shutdown follows allegations that Dangote Petroleum Refinery dismissed about 800 employees for attempting to unionise.
Union leaders instructed members across companies such as Shell, Chevron, TotalEnergies, Oando, Seplat, and Renaissance to halt crude supply to Dangote’s refinery.
General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa condemned the refinery’s management, saying, “Rather than correct their wrongs, they are spreading misinformation to justify illegality.”
When officials visited the oil regulators’ offices in Abuja, they met empty buildings and locked gates, with security staff stationed outside to keep workers away.
NMDPRA’s spokesperson, George Ene-Ita, confirmed that senior staff stayed away from duty in full compliance with the strike order.
At the NUPRC office in Jabi, workers were blocked from entering, while outside NNPCL headquarters, protesters sang solidarity chants demanding justice.
Placards and banners carried bold words like “We say no to abuse of workers’ rights” and “Nigerian workers are not second-class citizens.”
Amid the tension, there are signals that government officials are now stepping in to initiate talks between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery to resolve the crisis.
Article updated 3 hours ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
