The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has said it did not sign the communiqué that brought its nationwide strike against the Dangote Refinery to a temporary halt.

The union suspended its four-day strike on Wednesday following the intervention of the Federal Government but maintained that its core grievances remain unresolved.

At a press conference in Abuja, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, accused the refinery of illegally sacking more than 800 Nigerian workers and replacing them with over 2,000 expatriates from India. He warned that the industrial action could resume at any time if the refinery fails to implement the resolutions reached.

“There are still grey areas. If you see that communiqué, we did not sign it. Normally, it is supposed to be signed by three parties. We did not sign because we felt some things in it were not okay with us,” Osifo said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday.

He stressed that the document was merely a statement issued by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, who presided as conciliator in the talks.

“When we subjected it to our NEC, we had to decide on priorities. Some media houses claimed we were only interested in check-off dues. That is false. What we prioritised was how our members would return to work and provide for their families,” he added.

Osifo said PENGASSAN’s foremost demand remains the immediate reinstatement of the sacked Nigerian workers, insisting that Dangote Group initially rejected this until government pressure forced a compromise.

He dismissed the refinery’s allegations that the workers engaged in sabotage, warning that such claims, if left unchallenged, would permanently damage their career prospects.

“The release that Dangote made on workers sabotaging the economy was totally incorrect. If we had allowed that sabotage tag to stand, those 800 people would not be able to secure jobs in the future. Clearing that was a very big win. We are not perturbed in any way,” Osifo said.

He stressed that the union’s position was not about self-interest but about protecting Nigerian workers’ rights.

“If Dangote does not do the needful, our tools are always available. We will never get tired of struggling for what is right. We have been around for 50 years before the Dangote Refinery came on stream,” he declared.

The development comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Nigeria’s labour relations in the oil and gas sector, as the country grapples with economic reforms, unemployment, and concerns over foreign labour practices.