Nigeria’s House of Representatives has stepped in to calm tensions between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), following weeks of industrial unrest that rattled energy markets. 

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen has mandated the House leadership to mediate after lawmakers adopted an urgent motion sponsored by Ado Doguwa and Abdussamad Dasuki. 

The resolution also calls for safeguarding “strategic private investments” from disruptive strikes while insisting on workers’ rights and due process.

The intervention comes on the heels of PENGASSAN’s September directive to halt crude and gas supplies to the $20 billion refinery over alleged mass layoffs and labour practices, a move that briefly dented national output and power generation before talks paused the strike. 

Context from independent reporting shows a 16% hit to daily oil production and delays at export terminals during the stoppage, underscoring the wider economic stakes of a prolonged standoff.

Earlier coverage also captured Dangote Group’s pushback, warning the union to comply with Nigerian laws, while public figures and clerics sought parallel peace efforts.

With the House now formally in the middle, next steps include fact-finding, compliance with extant labour law, and potential guardrails on future industrial actions affecting national energy security. 

Stakeholders will watch whether parliament’s mediation yields a durable settlement on staffing, safety, and localisation commitments, without chilling legitimate union activity across the sector.