Protesters Accuse Oil Unions of Sabotage as Dangote Refinery Faces Threats

Protesters Accuse Oil Unions of Sabotage as Dangote Refinery Faces Threats

JOEL OLADELE, Abuja

Thousands of Nigerians yesterday poured into the streets of Abuja in a mass rally organised by four civil society coalitions, accusing oil unions and fuel marketers of attempting to sabotage the Dangote Refinery and plunge the nation back into fuel crisis.

The protesters, under the banners of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON), Nigerian Interfaith Forum (NIF), National Coalition for Market Men, Women and Artisans (NACOMWA), and the Petroleum Consumers Protection Alliance (PCPA), marched from Unity Fountain to the Presidential Villa, National Assembly and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Speaking through a joint statement, the leaders; Comrade Kennedy Tabuko, Dr. Mathew Ayodele, Comrade Ibrahim Suleiman, and Barr. Yusuf

Danladi described recent threats by the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and the planned strikes by PENGASSAN, NUPENG, and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as an orchestrated campaign of economic sabotage.

“The actions and threats by DAPPMAN, alongside the ill-timed strike threats by PENGASSAN, TUC, and NUPENG, represent nothing short of a direct assault on the Nigerian people, our economy, and our future.

President Tinubu should hold these people responsible if there is a breakdown of law and order in this country. They should be immediately arrested for disobedience to court order,” the statement declared.

The groups accused DAPPMAN of decades of profiteering through fuel importation, alleging that its opposition to Dangote Refinery was driven by fear of competition.

“DAPPMAN’s opposition to Dangote Refinery is not about policy or patriotism, it is about preserving their stranglehold over Nigerians. Their agenda is to keep fuel importation alive so they can continue profiteering at the expense of ordinary citizens,” said Tabuko.

They also dismissed the planned strikes by oil unions as a betrayal of workers.

“Let us be clear: this is not a strike for workers. It is a strike for cartels. History will not forgive any union that aligns with saboteurs against the very people they claim to represent,” said Dr. Ayodele.

Barr. Danladi welcomed the recent Federal High Court ruling restraining PENGASSAN from cutting gas supply to Dangote Refinery, stressing that “no union or cartel has the right to hold 200 million Nigerians hostage.”

On his part, Comrade Suleiman accused the unions of hypocrisy, questioning why they sought to force themselves into a private enterprise.

“If any worker at Dangote Refinery is unhappy and feels the need for union protection, let them seek employment elsewhere or test their grievances in court. Nigerians cannot allow a situation where, after decades of suffering from fuel imports, one man builds a world-class refinery, and a union claims the power to cripple it at will,” Suleiman stated.

The statement painted a grim picture of the human cost of such sabotage, citing mothers trekking due to unaffordable transport, children dropping out of school and families going hungry as inflation worsens.

“Now imagine the additional torment if DAPPMAN succeeds: fuel scarcity will return, black markets will flourish, transportation will collapse, and inflation will skyrocket. It is not just wickedness, it is economic terrorism against the Nigerian people.”

The coalition resolved to sustain pressure through legal action, continuous rallies, and international advocacy to ECOWAS, the African Union, and the United Nations.

They demanded unwavering support for local refineries and decisive steps to break the grip of fuel import cartels.

“We call on the President, the National Assembly, and all regulators to stand with the people, not with profiteers,” the groups said.

They ended with a stern warning: “If you proceed, we will meet you in court, in the streets, and in the global arena. This nation belongs to its people, not to cartels, not to saboteurs, not to profiteers.”