Business News

Dangote: FG Says Nigeria Is Greater Than PENGASSAN

Published

8 months ago

October 8, 2025

The Federal Government on Monday berated the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) for holding the whole country to ransom over a minor labour dispute that would have been amicably settled.

The government said the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery is a national asset that must be supported to function and that the nation owes it to the future generations to jealously protect, promote, preserve and protect the refinery for the interest of this great Nigerian.

Declaring open the 31st edition of the Nigeria Economic Summit (NESG), at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Monday, Vice President Kashim Shettima stated the government’s position on the matter, noting that the government will expect far reaching recommendations from the NESG in addressing this issue, even as the government is also taking steps to protect the industries and create industrial harmony for the good of the nation.

Shettima emphasised the critical importance of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery, declaring that it must be supported at all costs to succeed.

He said: “On this note, I want to dwell on something that is very dear, a very topical issue that is very dear to the heart of every Nigerian. Aliko Dangote is not an individual; he is an institution. And he is a leading light in Nigeria’s economic rejuvenation…and how we treat this gentleman will determine how outsiders will judge us. If he had invested $10 billion in Microsoft, in Amazon, or in Google, probably, he might be worth $70 to $80 billion by now. But he opted to invest in his country, and we owe it to future generations to jealously protect, promote, preserve and protect the interest of this great Nigerian.”

He however called for “… caution, retrospection, and a deeper sense of patriotism from both labour and the organised private sector in defining and improving the relationship between labour and industry in the interest of maintaining our steadily improving economic fortunes…It’s not about holding the whole nation to ransom because of a minor labour dispute. Nigeria is greater than PENGASSAN. Nigeria is greater than every one of us.”