Senator Ali Ndume has called on President Bola Tinubu to dissolve the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) if the union continues to pursue what he described as private interests against the national good.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE Television’s Prime Time on Monday, Ndume faulted PENGASSAN’s nationwide strike action over the dismissal of about 800 workers at the Dangote Refinery.
He argued that the union’s intervention was misplaced and harmful to ordinary Nigerians.
“This PENGASSAN is supposed to serve the interest of Nigerians, and their profession has to do with petroleum product that affects everything,” Ndume said.
“This is Nigeria, which is supposed to be a free country. You can’t force someone to be in the union.”
Ndume to PENGASSAN: Stay out of Dangote
The senator accused the union of overstepping its boundaries by trying to “impose demands” on Aliko Dangote’s privately owned refinery.
“Dangote is a private businessman who established a refinery. You can’t come and impose anything on a private individual. If you want to be a union, then stay out of Dangote,” Ndume declared.
He further alleged that the association was holding Nigerians “by the neck,” stressing that oil and gas workers were not the owners of the country’s resources.
“They are just workers. How can they be asking for more than the owners?” he asked.
Calls for executive order
Ndume criticized the timing of the strike, pointing out that PENGASSAN did not take similar actions when fuel subsidies were removed, when petrol prices soared to ₦1,000, or when government-owned refineries collapsed.
He urged the president to take firm action against the union, even if it meant adopting extraordinary measures.
“The best thing is for the president to sign an executive order calling them off. He has the right to dissolve them. In this case, I don’t mind if he acts like a dictator because some situations require very drastic measures,” Ndume said.
PENGASSAN had announced the nationwide strike in protest over the sacking of hundreds of employees by the Dangote Refinery.
The move has already raised concerns about fuel supply and the stability of Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
In response, the Federal Government has summoned both parties to a meeting in an attempt to resolve the dispute and avert wider economic disruption.
