The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has restrained the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) from embarking on a nationwide strike against the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.
Justice Emmanuel Sublim, who delivered the interim order on Monday, ruled that the action proposed by the oil workers’ union to cut crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery could inflict severe harm on Nigeria’s fragile economy.
The interim injunction followed an ex-parte application filed by the refinery’s lead counsel, George Ibrahim, SAN.
Justice Sublim also barred key regulatory agencies — the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) — from enforcing any directive by PENGASSAN to disrupt supply to the $20 billion refinery.
“The court is convinced that the strike action, if allowed to proceed, has the potential of causing irreparable damage to the economy and should be halted in the interest of justice,” Justice Sublim said while delivering his ruling.
He further ordered that the restraining order and suit be served immediately on all defendants, stressing that the status quo must be maintained pending the determination of the substantive motion.
The matter was adjourned to October 13 for the hearing of the motion on notice.
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