“I Don’t Mind if Tinubu Acts Like a Dictator — Dissolve PENGASSAN,” Says Ndume

Senator Ali Ndume has urged President Bola Tinubu to dissolve the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) if the union continues to put private interests above the country’s welfare.

PENGASSAN had on Saturday directed its members to begin a nationwide strike over the dismissal of more than 800 workers at the Dangote refinery. In response, the refinery accused the union of attempting to exploit the situation and weaponise hardship against Nigerians.

Speaking on Arise Television’s *Prime Time* programme on Monday, Ndume, who represents Borno South, criticised what he described as “so-called unionism” that benefits only a few at the expense of the nation. He argued that PENGASSAN, given its role in the petroleum sector, should act in the collective interest rather than exert pressure on private businesses.

“This PENGASSAN is supposed to serve the interest of Nigerians. Their profession has to do with petroleum products that affect everything,” Ndume said. “This is Nigeria, which is supposed to be a free country. You can’t force someone to be in the union.”

The senator rejected the union’s demands on the Dangote refinery, stressing that the company is a private business. “Dangote is a private businessman who established a refinery. You can’t come and impose anything on a private individual. If you want to be a union, then stay out of Dangote,” he said.

Ndume accused PENGASSAN of holding Nigerians “by the neck,” noting that workers do not own the country’s oil and gas resources. He questioned the union’s silence during major challenges in the sector, including the removal of fuel subsidy, rising pump prices, and the collapse of government-owned refineries.

“They are just workers. How can they be asking for more than the owners? Where were they when the subsidy was removed and the fuel price rose to N1000? Where were they when the refineries stopped working and we were depending on imports?” he asked.

Calling for decisive action, Ndume said Tinubu should not hesitate to issue an executive order to dissolve the union. “The best thing is for the president to sign an executive order calling them off. He has the right to dissolve them. In this case, I don’t mind if he acts like a dictator because some situations require very drastic measures,” he said.