Nigeria: Court Nullifies PENGASSAN Chevron Elections, Orders Fresh Poll

What the report says

A Nigerian industrial court in Lagos has nullified the September 16, 2025 elections held by the Chevron branch of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and ordered the union to conduct fresh polls within 30 days. According to Daily Trust, the court also directed the South-West Zonal Director of Labour to oversee the new election and file a compliance report within seven days afterward.

The ruling, delivered by Justice Joyce A. O. Damachi on August 10, 2026, went beyond the election issue. The court found that PENGASSAN’s Central Working Committee acted outside its constitution when it dissolved the Chevron branch executive bodies in October 2024, replaced them with a caretaker committee, and later tried to impose election guidelines that the judge said did not bind the branch. It also upheld the branch’s bye-laws and set aside the caretaker committee’s actions.

The case was brought by seven Chevron branch members against PENGASSAN and senior union officials, including National President Festus Osifo and General Secretary Lumumba Ignothemu Okugbawa. Daily Trust reported that the judgment is part of a broader pattern of court intervention in PENGASSAN disputes at different branches, including an earlier case involving the NMDPRA branch. The decision matters because it affects union leadership legitimacy and may shape how PENGASSAN handles internal governance and elections going forward.