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PENGASSAN strike halts operations across key oil and gas agencies
The industrial action initiated by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Monday brought major disruptions to essential oil and gas oversight bodies, such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
This work stoppage, prompted by a decision from the union’s National Executive Council over the prior weekend, resulted in employees nationwide suspending their duties, thereby halting the functions of vital organizations central to Nigeria’s energy sector.
READ ALSO: PENGASSAN embarks on nationwide strike amid fued with Dangote refinery
Field reports from the NUPRC’s main office in Abuja revealed the primary entrance secured shut, with numerous workers unable to gain access. On-site security personnel verified that entry was denied to all personnel, adhering strictly to the union’s instructions.
In a comparable manner, operations at the NMDPRA’s facility in the bustling Central Business District came to a full stop, as staff observed the boycott without exception.
Tony Iziogba, the PENGASSAN Chairperson at the NMDPRA, verified to The PUNCH that participation in the action reached full levels, blocking entry for both employees and outsiders.
He further noted that equivalent full adherence had been secured among members at the NNPCL and related entities.
PENGASSAN explained that the action was unavoidable due to the purported unjust termination of roughly 800 employees at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The union’s order to suspend deliveries of crude oil and natural gas to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has rippled across the energy landscape, prompting alerts from fuel distributors about potential breakdowns in product availability. Such measures are likely to strain local supplies, increasing pressure on availability and costs.
PENGASSAN issued its strike notice on Sunday, mandating that all members in offices, firms, organizations, and regulatory bodies withhold services effective from 12:01 a.m. on Monday, September 29, 2025.
Additionally, the union instructed those in remote operational sites to suspend activities starting at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 28, and to engage in continuous prayer sessions.
In a firm statement endorsed by PENGASSAN General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, the organization charged the refinery with breaching domestic labor regulations and standards set by the International Labour Organisation through the dismissals tied to union membership. It claimed the affected roles were filled by non-Nigerians.
“All processes involving gas and crude supply to Dangote Refinery should be halted immediately,” the resolution declared. “All IOC (International Oil Companies) branches must ramp down gas production and supply to Dangote Refinery and petrochemicals.”
This escalation has amplified concerns over shortages in fuel and electricity interruptions, given the NNPC’s exclusive role in petrol imports, the midstream and downstream body’s oversight of distribution, and the NUPRC’s duties in tracking oil output and ensuring gas delivery to electricity generators.
Attention now turns to an urgent session scheduled for Monday with the Minister of Labour, where the potential for negotiations to ease tensions—or for the situation to worsen amid Nigeria’s challenges—will hinge on mutual concessions from the involved parties.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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