PENGASSAN national leadership confirms documents alleging workplace abuses by TotalEnergies expatriates

The national leadership of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has confirmed the authenticity of the documents alleging that expatriates working with the French multinational petroleum company, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Ltd, have been intimidating, bullying, and harassing their Nigerian colleagues.

The Sun newspaper reported on 3 February that PENGASSAN stated in a statement that the media reports on the alleged workplace abuses “relied on an internal correspondence between staff and management (of TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Ltd)”.

Jerry Amah, the association’s acting general secretary, issued the statement.

However, Mr Amah, according to the Sun report, claimed that it was not true that the TotalEnergies expatriates were bullying and harassing their Nigerian colleagues, and that the newspapers that ran stories based on the “internal correspondence” did not have PENGASSAN’s authorisation.

Background

PREMIUM TIMES, along with other newspapers, reported the alleged workplace abuses at TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Ltd, citing letters from the company’s PENGASSAN branch to Matthieu Bouyer, the managing director/country chair of TotalEnergies Nigeria.

The Branch Chairman, Abdulhameed Rabiu, and Secretary, Opuwariboko Wilson, signed the letters.

The stance of PENGASSAN’s national leadership on the matter appears strange, as labour unions at the national, sub-national, and local levels are known to usually present a common position during labour disputes.

Mr Amah, the acting general secretary of PENGASSAN, confirmed on Friday to PREMIUM TIMES that he issued the statement which the Sun used for its report. He, however, refused to respond to questions from our reporter.

The local branch of PENGASSAN in TotalEnergies Nigeria also complained of an influx of expatriates, who it said are taking jobs that could be handled by local skilled workers.

It declared some of the company’s expatriates unwelcome at its facilities in Nigeria in October last year.

The association said it took the decision after the company’s management allegedly refused to respond to or take action on its complaint of workplace abuses.

The local branch of PENGASSAN in TotalEnergies Nigeria named the affected expatriates as Jean-Christophe Agrati, a contract and procurement manager, and Sabine Brochard, a strategic planning officer. It accused the two of “persistently creating a hostile work environment for colleagues in the Nigerian Affiliate”.

It also named Marc Mainguy, a senior geomechanics engineer, accused of “serious breach to our security and safety protocols”, and Erik Korf, an executive manager, “for perpetuating himself in the affiliate, through the support of management following the completion of his assignment and successful handover to a new EGM JVA FOPS.”

A Nigerian employee of TotalEnergies, Obi Imemba, the executive director, Joint Venture Asset, was also declared persona non grata by the union.

In a letter to Mr Bouyer on 20 October last year, the local branch of PENGASSAN alleged that the expatriate, Mr Mainguy, had scaled the company’s perimeter fence in violation of safety and security protocols.

The association said it was surprised that TotalEnergies management in Nigeria had yet to set up a panel to investigate the alleged incident.

“We are constrained to ask, if the concerned personnel were a Nigerian, would this not have led to severe sanctions?” the union stated in the letter. “It is important to further mention that this action not only undermines the company’s security framework but also sets a dangerous precedent for indiscipline within the workplace.”

The association, in a 24 October 2025 letter to Mr Bouyer, presented three demands to the TotalEnergies management.

“The Expats be immediately and permanently demobilised from the Affiliate, never to return. All jobs hitherto handled by Nigerians with demonstrable competence be returned to Nigerians. Steps be taken to immediately stem the recent rude mannerisms expats are beginning to portray. There are instances of shouting at colleagues, unnecessary aggressiveness, undue pressure and a general colonial mindset.

“We have the reports, and we shall address all of them adequately, should Management fail to do the needful,” it stated, adding that it was committed to industrial harmony and “constructive dialogue” with the management.

TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Ltd’s Country Communication Manager, Charles Ebereonwu, had yet to respond to the questions our reporter emailed him on 26 January.

Your credibility is questionable, group tells PENGASSAN’s national leadership

A group in Nigeria, the Movement of Intellectuals for National Development (MIND), has criticised PENGASSAN’s national leadership for its stance on the alleged workplace abuses at TotalEnergies Nigeria.

In a statement issued on 11 February by its Western Coordinator, Ebi Warekromo, the group stated that it found PENGASSAN’s response “deeply disappointing, evasive, and fundamentally inconsistent with the core responsibilities of a labour union that claims to exist for the protection and welfare of its members.”

The group, which had earlier petitioned the Nigerian Senate on the matter, insisted that there were blatant local content violations at TotalEnergies Nigeria, “particularly the illegal perpetuation of expatriate positions beyond approved tenures, in clear contravention of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act”.

MIND stated that for PENGASSAN’s national leadership to say that the letters written by its local branch were “internal correspondence not meant for public consumption” is both weak and disingenuous. It called on the Senate to hold a public hearing on TotalEnergies Nigeria.

“Issues involving workers’ rights violations, systemic oppression, and abuse of corporate power cease to be ‘internal’ once they remain unresolved and continue to harm Nigerian workers.

“Confidentiality cannot be weaponised to shield injustice. Internal engagement is only defensible when it delivers results; when it fails repeatedly, escalation to public and institutional oversight becomes not only justified, but necessary,” it stated.

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“Attempts to intimidate whistleblowers or ‘investigate breaches’ of confidentiality only deepen public concern and reinforce the perception of institutional complicity.

“The Nigerian public, Nigerian workers, and the Senate of the Federal Republic deserve honesty—not distancing statements, procedural excuses, or selective amnesia.

“MIND remains steadfast in its commitment to justice, fairness, and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive sector. We urge PENGASSAN’s leadership to reflect deeply on the path it is choosing and to realign itself with the workers whose dues, trust, and mandate give it legitimacy.

“History is unkind to institutions that choose silence and convenience over courage.”