RismadarVoice Reporters
September 5, 2026
A leadership dispute involving the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has escalated into legal proceedings at the National Industrial Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
A Rivers State labour leader, Ikechukwu Foster Onyefuru, is challenging his suspension as Chairman of the Rivers State Council of the TUC, while a separate suit seeks to overturn the dissolution of an elected PENGASSAN branch executive.
The cases, filed separately, are registered as NICN/PH/60/2026 and NICN/PH/63/2026 before the Port Harcourt Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court.
Onyefuru, a senior employee of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, formerly Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), is the claimant in the first suit.
He said he was elected Chairman of the Rivers State Council of the TUC on September 26, 2022, and is asking the court to declare his suspension unlawful and reinstate him for the remainder of his tenure.
The dispute followed a suspension letter issued by the TUC on June 25, 2024.
According to Onyefuru, the union accused him of misconduct, including granting media interviews without prior authorisation from the national secretariat. The disciplinary action also referenced a query issued to him on June 20, 2024.
However, Onyefuru argued that the process leading to his suspension did not comply with the provisions of the TUC Constitution 2024.
He contended that disciplinary action against an elected state chairman could only be taken by the appropriate organs of the union, including the National Executive Council, Central Working Committee or National Administrative Council, and must be conducted in accordance with the principles of fair hearing.
He further argued that a query issued to him and an apology he subsequently tendered could not substitute the formal disciplinary procedure provided under the union’s constitution.
Onyefuru said he attempted to settle the dispute internally before approaching the court.
He cited a letter dated May 6, 2025, through which he requested a meeting to address issues affecting the Rivers State Council, but said the effort failed to resolve the disagreement.
The defendants in the suit include TUC, its National President, Festus Osifo; the Rivers State Chairman, Samuel Ogan; and the Secretary-General, Abba Toro.
Among the reliefs being sought, Onyefuru wants the court to invalidate any subsequent election or appointment of Ogan or any other person to replace him.
He is also demanding N10 million in general damages and N5 million as the cost of the action.
The second suit was filed by Onyefuru and nine other members of the former SPDC, now Renaissance Africa Energy Company (RAEC), branch executive council of PENGASSAN.
The claimants said they were elected into the branch executive on August 30, 2024, for a three-year tenure expected to expire in August 2027.
They are challenging PENGASSAN’s decision to dissolve the executive on May 9, 2025, and replace it with a caretaker committee headed by Akpe Emmanuel.
The claimants alleged that the dissolution occurred less than two months after Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings completed its acquisition of SPDC’s shares on March 13, 2025.
A key issue before the court is the interpretation of the PENGASSAN Constitution 2022, which the claimants contend was the applicable governing document when the executive was dissolved.
They are asking the court to determine whether PENGASSAN had the constitutional power to dissolve an elected branch executive under the circumstances.
The defendants in the case include PENGASSAN, its President, Festus Osifo; its Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa; members of the RAEC caretaker committee; and Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited.
The claimants have also applied for an interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from recognising the caretaker committee as the legitimate leadership of the branch pending the determination of the suit.
They are further seeking an order preventing the defendants from excluding them from union activities and elections.
The claimants are also challenging what they described as compulsory deductions for the PENGASSAN Foundation.
They referred to communications dated December 14, 2025, and January 30, 2026, concerning the proposed deductions, saying they had earlier objected to the deductions in a letter addressed to RAEC management on January 5, 2026.
The two matters remain pending before the National Industrial Court in Port Harcourt, and the court has yet to make a final determination on the claims.
As of the time of filing the report, the defendants had not filed their responses to the allegations, while attempts to obtain their reactions were unsuccessful.
