Nigeria Is Bigger Than PENGASSAN — VP Shettima Backs Dangote Refinery
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has stated that Nigeria is greater than the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) amid the union’s ongoing dispute with the Dangote Refinery.
Speaking on Monday at the opening of the 2025 Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, Shettima underscored the importance of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery, describing it as a $20 billion national asset that must be supported to succeed.
According to him, the refinery represents a crucial step toward achieving Nigeria’s energy independence and industrial growth.
Aliko Dangote, he’s not an individual, he’s an institution, and he’s a leading light in Nigeria’s economic parliament. 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, he probably 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 interests of this great Nigeria.
“I wish to call 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 each and every one of us. I’m not coming to you as a partisan,” Shettima said.
