LAGOS, Sept 26 (The African Portal) – Dangote Petroleum Refinery has launched a sweeping reorganisation of its operations after reporting repeated sabotage by staff that threatened the safety of its 650,000-barrel-per-day plant, according to an internal letter seen by The African Portal.
In a Sept. 24 letter signed by Chief General Manager for Human Asset Management, Femi Adekunle, the company said it was “constrained to carry out a total reorganisation of the plant” after “many recent cases of reported sabotage in different units of the Petroleum Refinery leading to major safety concerns.”
The letter, addressed to all staff, directed affected workers to hand over company property to their line managers and await clearance before receiving their entitlements.
Staff speak out
A senior company official, who asked not to be named, confirmed the authenticity of the letter but denied reports of mass dismissals. “Yes, the letter is correct. But the interpretation is wrong,” the official told Reuters. “It doesn’t mean they have been sacked. What was done was to put a check in place. It is more like a clean-up in the system to check where those sabotage and leakages are coming from and then address them.”
He added that some staff could be reabsorbed once investigations were concluded. “As soon as the issues are addressed, they will be reabsorbed. That is why it is not a sack and that word wasn’t used,” he said.
The official said the exercise was carried out without prior notice to prevent those involved in sabotage from covering their tracks. “You cannot do things like this and give two weeks’ notice; otherwise, those in the act would cover up and complicate issues,” he said.
Refinery operations were ongoing, the official added, with both Nigerian and expatriate staff still at work. Dangote spokesperson Anthony Chiejina did not respond to a request for comment.
The $20 billion refinery, which began production in 2024, was expected to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuels but has faced operational turbulence and disputes with labour unions and fuel marketers.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers recently accused the company of “high-handedness” over labour practices, while marketers have clashed with Dangote over pricing and distribution terms.
This was written with additional files from the Punch
