The House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to wade into the ongoing dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the management of Dangote Refinery, a standoff that has disrupted petroleum product distribution across the country.
The decision followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance co-sponsored by Alhassan Ado Doguwa (Kano) and Abdussamad Dasuki (Sokoto) during Tuesday’s plenary session. The motion, titled “Need to Protect Private Investment from Adversarial Unionism,” drew attention to the national economic implications of the industrial crisis at Africa’s largest private refinery.
The face-off, which began on September 29, 2025, led to a shutdown of operations at the $20 billion facility, triggering widespread fuel shortages and long queues at filling stations nationwide. The disruption also reportedly resulted in a production loss of about 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day over three days, worsening the country’s petroleum supply challenges.
Doguwa, who represents Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency, stressed the strategic importance of the Dangote Refinery to Nigeria’s economic stability, describing it as a key asset capable of guaranteeing energy security, generating employment, reducing import dependency, and conserving foreign exchange.
“The House is aware that the Dangote Refinery operates within a Free Trade Zone under the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), and Section 18(5) of the NEPZA Act clearly stipulates that employment in the free zone shall be governed by rules and regulations made by the Authority and not subject to the provisions of any enactments relating to employment matters,” Doguwa stated.
He warned that labour union actions that disregard such legal protections threaten not only the rule of law but also investor confidence in Nigeria’s business environment.
“If private investments of strategic national importance are continually subjected to unlawful disruptions by adversarial unionism, Nigeria risks the collapse of key economic assets and the erosion of investor confidence,” he added.
However, Ahmad Jaha (Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza) cautioned the House to approach the matter carefully, arguing that an immediate probe could be premature and counterproductive given the sensitivity of the issue.
Following extensive deliberations, the House adopted the motion and mandated its leadership to mediate between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery in the interest of national stability.
Lawmakers also called on the Federal Ministries of Labour and Employment; Industry, Trade and Investment; and Justice to jointly develop a national framework to safeguard strategic private investments from unlawful industrial actions.
Additionally, the Ministry of Justice and NEPZA were directed to ensure strict enforcement of Section 18(5) of the NEPZA Act across all Free Zone operations, to protect compliant private enterprises from adversarial disruptions.
The intervention comes amid growing public frustration over persistent fuel scarcity and concerns about the potential economic fallout if the refinery’s operations remain suspended.