Court nullifies PENGASSAN Chevron branch dissolution, election

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Lagos Division, has nullified the controversial September 16, 2025, election of the Chevron Branch of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

In a 22-page judgment delivered by Justice Joyce A. O. Damachi, the court ordered a fresh, democratic poll to be conducted within 30 days.

The court also voided the eight-member caretaker committee constituted by PENGASSAN’s Central Working Committee to administer the branch, holding that its prolonged tenure violated the union’s constitution.

It equally directed the South-West Zonal Director of Labour, Federal Ministry of Labour, Lagos, to supervise the fresh election and submit a compliance report to the court within seven days of the exercise.

The judgment is the latest judicial intervention in the affairs of PENGASSAN at its various branches.

In January 2026, the National Industrial Court in Abuja overturned the suspension of some members of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) branch and ordered the dissolution of a caretaker committee constituted by PENGASSAN’s Central Working Committee (CWC).

The committee had been constituted following the expiration of the tenure of the Branch Executive Committee (BECOM) of the NMDPRA branch on May 27, 2025.

In the Chevron case, the court also declared unconstitutional and void the dissolution of the Chevron Branch Executive Committee (BECOM) and Chapter Executive Committee (CECOM) by PENGASSAN’s CWC on October 8, 2024.

The court further invalidated the eight-member caretaker committee subsequently installed to administer the branch, as well as extensions of its tenure beyond the constitutionally prescribed three-month period.

It upheld the validity of the Chevron branch bye-laws dated February 10, 2017, as reviewed in February 2022, declaring the purported unilateral revocation of the bye-laws by PENGASSAN’s National Secretariat on July 8, 2025, unconstitutional and void.

The judge also declared the election guidelines issued by the PENGASSAN National Secretariat on July 30, 2025, unconstitutional, invalid and not binding on the Chevron Branch.

Consequently, the court set aside the branch delegate and executive elections conducted on September 16, 2025, declaring all offices assumed and actions taken pursuant to the elections null and void.

Justice Damachi further granted a perpetual injunction restraining PENGASSAN, its agents, officers and privies from giving effect to the dissolved caretaker committee, the revoked bye-laws or the September 2025 elections.

The judgment followed a suit filed by seven members of PENGASSAN’s Chevron Branch — Sunday Ebulu, Ete Oyegbanren, Edwin Koloh, Samuel Akinfe, Fola Oyinbo, Alaba Fadola and Jeremiah Odior — against PENGASSAN, its National President, Festus Osifo; General Secretary, Lumumba Ignothemu Okugbawa; and members of the caretaker committee.

In ordering fresh elections, the court said the order was consequential, flowing directly from its findings that the dissolution of the elected branch leadership, constitution of the caretaker committee, revocation of the bye-laws and subsequent elections were invalid.

Justice Damachi held that the court had the inherent power to make consequential orders where necessary to give full effect to its judgment and ensure that justice was served.

Earlier in the judgment, the judge found that the CWC lacked the constitutional basis to dissolve the elected branch leadership in the manner it did, stressing that the constitution of an association constituted the “organic contract” binding its members.

The court held that PENGASSAN’s constitution required strict compliance with prescribed procedures before an elected branch executive could be removed.

It also found that the three-member Fact-Finding Committee whose report formed the basis of the dissolution was not recognised by the union’s constitution.

Justice Damachi further held that the CWC’s action was invalid because it dissolved the Chevron branch organs on October 8, 2024, without obtaining prior approval from the National Executive Council (NEC), which was a mandatory requirement under the PENGASSAN Constitution.

The NEC purportedly approved the dissolution at a meeting on December 3, 2024, about two months after the dissolution had already been effected.

According to the judge, trade unions enjoy protection from employer interference under Nigerian law and relevant international labour standards.

On the caretaker committee, the court found that PENGASSAN breached its own constitution by appointing eight members instead of the maximum five permitted under Rule 31.4.

Reacting to the judgment, former Trade Union Congress (TUC), Delta State Secretary, Ete Oyegbanren, said the decision would help reposition PENGASSAN.

Oyegbanren alleged that the PENGASSAN leadership under Osifo had deviated from the association’s constitution and commended the court for upholding due process.