The Dangote Refinery has reportedly re-employed several engineers who were laid off last month following the industrial dispute between the company and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
Reliable sources told The Punch that the affected engineers have been recalled and redeployed to various Dangote projects across the country, including sites in Borno, Zamfara, Benue, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Ebonyi states.
According to multiple employees who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, the recalled staff were invited to pick up their re-employment and redeployment letters earlier this week.
“Some of us were still graduate trainees when we were laid off. Now, the company has brought us back, but we are being sent to other Dangote projects outside Lagos,” one of the engineers revealed.
It was gathered that some of the re-employed staff have been assigned to the company’s coal mining operation in Benue State, while others have been posted to concrete road construction projects in Borno and Ebonyi states. Several others are to resume work at Dangote rice processing plants in Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
The move comes weeks after tensions between the refinery’s management and PENGASSAN led to the disengagement of dozens of staff over alleged insubordination and breach of company policy. The dispute drew widespread attention, prompting intervention from labour authorities and other stakeholders in the oil and gas sector.
As of press time, the Dangote Group had yet to release an official statement confirming the re-employment or redeployment of the affected engineers.
