The Dangote refinery has re-employed the engineers sacked last month during the crisis between it and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria.
Our correspondent reliably gathered that the engineers were now being posted to Borno, Zamfara, Benue and others.
The engineers, some of whom were still graduate trainees during their sack, were invited to pick up their re-employment/redeployment letters.
The workers, who did not want to be mentioned because of how sensitive the matter is, told our correspondent that some were sent to a coal mine in Benue and concrete road construction sites in Borno and Ebonyi states, as well as the rice plants in Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
They were expected to report at their new places of assignment within 14 days, or they would lose the jobs.
Sources within the Dangote group confirmed the development to our correspondent.
“They basically re-employed all of us to these places, under Dangote Projects,” one of the workers told The PUNCH.
One of the letters sighted by our correspondent was titled ’Offer of Trainee Engagement’ with a letterhead that shows Dangote Projects Limited.
It reads partly, “Based on your performance at the assessment and subsequent interviews held with you, we are pleased to engage you as Engineer Trainee (Mechanical Engineering) for the coal project we are executing at Okpokwu, Benue State.
“This engagement shall be subject to the following conditions: You will report to your work location within 14 days upon receipt of this letter.
“You will undergo classroom training and hands-on training in the construction, commissioning and operation for our Coal Project at Okpokwu, Benue State. Your training will be for a period of two years, and it will be reviewed periodically. You will be required to submit reports on your learning and progress. The objective of the training is to impart to you skills and to enable you to take up a position of responsibility in the organisation.
“Both the company and you can terminate the trainee engagement by giving one month’s notice or payment of one month’s salary in lieu of notice. We welcome you to the Dangote Group.”
The letters were signed by the Chief General Manager, Human Asset Management, Femi Adekunle.
While some have gone to Dangote’s office in Ikeja for their letters, others said they were told by the leadership of PENGASSAN to hold on as discussions were still ongoing.
The workers expressed concerns over their deployment to far-away places, especially places known for insecurity.
“The issue with the re-employment is that, firstly, there’s no address to report to on that letter. No office to report to at the states we were posted to. Secondly, those are security hot zones.
“Thirdly, in the letter, it is stated that if you don’t report within 14 days, your employment will be terminated, but no office location was given, and they don’t exist when we checked on Google Maps. So, if we accept the letter, we are basically terminating our employment by ourselves because there’s no office in those states to report to. PENGASSAN has basically told us not to accept the letters. We should let them continue with their talks,” they told The PUNCH.
However, an official of the Dangote Group said the agreement was to redeploy the workers to other business units under the group, either within or outside the country.
Recall that PENGASSAN shut down oil and gas facilities one month ago over allegations that 800 refinery workers were fired for volunteering to be members of the union.
But the Dangote refinery said it only sacked a few workers who were sabotaging the facility, tagging it a reorganisation.
Oil and gas workers went on strike in defence of their colleagues, causing the nation losses in oil and gas production as well as a drop in power generation.
The workers expressed concerns over their deployment to far-away places, especially places known for insecurity.
“The issue with the re-employment is that, firstly, there’s no address to report to on that letter. No office to report to at the states we were posted to. Secondly, those are security hot zones.
“Thirdly, in the letter, it is stated that if you don’t report within 14 days, your employment will be terminated, but no office location was given, and they don’t exist when we checked on Google Maps. So, if we accept the letter, we are basically terminating our employment by ourselves because there’s no office in those states to report to. PENGASSAN has basically told us not to accept the letters. We should let them continue with their talks,” they told The PUNCH.
However, an official of the Dangote Group said the agreement was to redeploy the workers to other business units under the group, either within or outside the country.
Recall that PENGASSAN shut down oil and gas facilities one month ago over allegations that 800 refinery workers were fired for volunteering to be members of the union.
But the Dangote refinery said it only sacked a few workers who were sabotaging the facility, tagging it a reorganisation.
Oil and gas workers went on strike in defence of their colleagues, causing the nation losses in oil and gas production as well as a drop in power generation.
The intervention of the Federal Government restored peace as the Dangote Group was asked to redeploy the sacked workers.
Sources within the Dangote Group had earlier told our correspondent that the company was ready to redeploy the engineers to its sugar and cement plants.
It was learnt that the company would also recruit new engineers to replace the redeployed ones, and the redeployment would be a huge loss to the company.
But some of the engineers decried the plan to redeploy them to sugar, cement and other business units under the Dangote Group.
The workers said the company was victimising them for unionisation.
Speaking on Sunday, the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the company would employ 65,000 workers for construction works as the expansion of the refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day began.
It is yet to be known whether or not some of the sacked engineers would be reabsorbed for the expansion, especially as they were accused of attempting to sabotage the refinery 22 times, a claim the affected workers have denied.
Dangote flags PIA amendment to unlock refining potential
Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has thrown his weight behind the proposed amendment of the Petroleum Industry Act, saying it would create more opportunities for local refining and strengthen Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Dangote said this during a question-and-answer session at the press conference to mark the official announcement on the expansion of the Dangote Refinery from 650,000 barrels to 1.4 million barrels per day. He said the move to revisit the PIA would “open up a lot” for the industry.
Dangote said that the review was necessary to ensure that the law reflects the realities of Nigeria’s downstream operations and supports indigenous investments.
He said the planned review of the Petroleum Industry Act would unlock new opportunities and address grey areas in the current legislation.
According to him, the existing provisions of the Act already empower international oil companies and regulators to make certain adjustments that, if properly implemented, could further strengthen the oil and gas sector.
He said, “The opening of the Petroleum Industry Act by revisiting the PIA through the amendment will open up a lot. There are other areas where it allowed the IOCs and the regulators to tinker with something, which I think will help.”
He explained that with renewed presidential support and ongoing policy reforms, the amendment would ensure that the right provisions are captured to promote domestic refining and energy security.
Dangote noted that the policy framework already stipulates that only crude oil unsuitable for local refining should be exported but lamented that the directive has not been strictly enforced.
He accused some producers of exploiting the “willing buyer, willing seller” policy to export crude that could otherwise be refined within Nigeria.
While acknowledging the importance of market freedom, the industrialist stressed that the willing buyer and willing seller arrangement should apply primarily to producers operating within Nigeria, not offshore trading companies.
“Right now, with this new presidential support and also the policies, we will also make sure that it captures the right things. Because it is already in the policy that only crude that cannot be refined in Nigeria should be exported to other countries, which I think is not being followed aggressively, because they are hiding under the willing buyer and willing seller.
“Of course, there should be a willing buyer and a willing seller, but it should be the company that is producing her and not a trading company outside Nigeria’s shores,” he added.
The Dangote refinery started operations in 2024, significantly reducing Nigeria’s years of dependence on fuel importation.
-The Punch
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