Economy
Major shakeup in Dangote Refinery as management sacks over 200 staff over sabotage, safety concerns
The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, has terminated the appointment of over 200 workers in a major reorganization exercise, Business Hallmark can report.
The purge is coming on the heels of reported cases of sabotage in different units in the refinery which raised serious safety concerns.
Some of the affected workers who broke the news of their sack to BH yesterday night, said they started receiving their letters of termination just before the close of work on Thursday, September 25, 2025.
In one of the letters to all staff signed by the Chief General Manager, Human Asset Management, Dangote Group, Femi Adekunle and leaked to Business Hallmark, the management noted that the reorganization followed multiple cases of reported sabotage across refinery units that posed major safety risks.
According to the Dangote Group, management was left with no choice but to carry out a total reorganization of the refinery, resulting in the disengagement of the affected staff, effective Thursday, September 25, 2025.
The workers were told to hand over all company properties in their possession to their line managers and obtain an exit clearance, with the specific date for the process to be communicated later.
“The Finance Department, by a copy of this letter, is advised to compute all your benefits and entitlements in line with your terms of employment and conditions of service and pay the amount due to you (less all indebtedness), subject to the condition that you have obtained the exit clearance certificate as mentioned above”, Chief General Manager, Human Asset Management, Dangote Group, Femi Adekunle said in the letter.
Though the number of affected staff has not been officially disclosed at the time of filing this report, though it was addressed to all staff. BH, however, gathered that only that over 200 “troublesome” workers would be affected, while the remaining pliable staff would be reabsorbed.
The restructuring, it was gathered, may not be unconnected to the unionization crisis in the refinery.
It would be recalled that the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have been at loggerheads with the management of Dangote Refinery over management’s alleged refusal to allow tanker drivers and other employees to unionize.
The crisis came to a head two weeks ago when members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), an affiliate of NUPENG, who embarked on a nationwide strike, blocked all the entrances leading to the Dangote refinery to prevent the loading of products.
PENGASSAN, which later joined the fight on the side of NUPENG, warned that if the standoff continued, it would have no option but to “join in shutting down refinery operations to protect workers’ rights and interests”.
Order was restored after the intervention of the Federal Government and a court order stopping NUPENG from going on strike.
Meanwhile, Dangote Group is yet to officially make its position known over the alleged layoff at the refinery.
BH reached out to the group’s head of corporate communications, Anthony Chiejina, but he did not respond to calls and texts messages sent to him.