The reconciliation meeting between the Federal Government, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), and Dangote Refinery ended in deadlock on Monday night, prolonging the ongoing industrial action.
The meeting, which lasted over nine hours and was convened by the Federal Government to resolve the dispute over the dismissal of more than 800 refinery workers, failed to settle two key issues: the reinstatement of the sacked staff and unionisation rights.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, who chaired the session, said, “Progress has been made, but the only unresolved issues are the reinstatement of the sacked workers and unionisation.
“We are optimistic that when talks resume later today, a resolution can be reached.”
PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo stated that no agreement was reached regarding the reinstatement of the affected workers.
“All we want is for the 800-plus people who were sent home to be reinstated.
These are fathers and mothers, and their careers are at stake,” he said.
Osifo added that labeling some employees as saboteurs had further harmed their prospects in the industry and confirmed that the strike would continue until their reinstatement.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, warned of the economic risks posed by the prolonged strike.
“We need to limit the damage of this action to the economy. Gas and crude must keep flowing to sustain production.
“We do not want the current momentum of growth to be broken,” he said.
The ministers expressed optimism that the deadlock could eventually be resolved, emphasizing the urgency of restoring operations to safeguard Nigeria’s economic growth.
