Protest in Kaduna over Dangote–PENGASSAN face-off

Protesters on Monday brought parts of Kaduna to a standstill as they marched in solidarity with the Dangote Refinery, accusing a well-connected oil importation cartel and elements within the labour movement of trying to frustrate the country’s nascent local refining drive.

The protest, themed “National Unity Against Sabotage: Reclaiming Our Petroleum Sector for the People,” called for urgent government action to protect the multi-billion-dollar Dangote Refinery from “systematic attacks” by elements of the oil importation cartel.

Marching under the banner of Partners for National Economic Progress, the demonstrators gathered at Murtala Mohammed Square before winding through Alkali Road, Ali Akilu Road, Ahmadu Bello Way and Muhammadu Buhari Way, brandishing placards with messages such as “Protect Local Refining,” “End Fuel Import Cartel” and “Support Dangote Refinery.”

One of the movement’s leaders, Igwe Ude-Umanta, told the crowd that the Kaduna demonstration formed part of a nationwide campaign that began in Abuja on October 2.

Ude-Umanta described the rallies as a “national liberation effort” aimed at saving Nigeria’s economy from forces he said were determined to keep the country dependent on imported fuel.

“This struggle is against the cartel that destroyed our public refineries, killed the textile industry, and now wants to strangle the Dangote Refinery. We will not let them succeed. The days of holding Nigeria hostage are over,” Ude-Umanta declared to thunderous applause.

Ude-Umanta drew an explicit historical parallel with Kaduna’s once-thriving textile industry, saying the same pattern of sabotage that gutted that sector was being replayed in the petroleum industry.

Kaduna used to be a textile hub before the same pattern of sabotage destroyed it. Today, they want to replicate that in our petroleum sector by frustrating local refining. We will resist them,” he said.

PANEP leader accused the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria of complicity, describing recent union actions as tantamount to “economic terrorism.”

PANEP urged either an outright halt to fuel importation or the imposition of heavy tariffs to protect domestic refining and related industries.

“Countries that place tariffs are not stupid; they are protecting their economies,” Ude-Umanta said, adding that importers were frightened by the prospect of local refining exposing price manipulation and corrupt practices.

Dahiru Maishanu, who also addressed the rally, said the union’s conduct had gone beyond legitimate labour protest and was instead assisting the importers’ agenda.

“What PENGASSAN did was not unionism, it was sabotage. The Federal Government should have arrested their leadership to serve as a deterrent. We cannot allow people to hide under labour unions to commit crimes against our economy,” Maishanu said.

The protesters demanded urgent intervention from President Bola Tinubu, who also holds the portfolio of Minister of Petroleum Resources, to ensure that local refineries, notably the Dangote Refinery, are supplied with crude oil on terms equal to those offered to foreign refiners.

President Tinubu must stamp his feet,” the group said in a statement read at the rally.

“Local refineries must receive crude at the same price offered to foreign refiners. That is key to sustaining the refinery and boosting investor confidence,” he said.

Maishanu also accused the cartel of actively blocking the sale of locally produced Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Aviation Turbine Kerosene, insisting those actions were intended to keep prices artificially high and preserve monopoly profits.

“They are punishing Nigerians to protect their greed. How can importers compete with producers? They are scared because local refining will expose their fraud and end their control over pricing,” Maishanu said.

The demonstrators praised the Dangote Refinery for what they called its early impact on prices of Premium Motor Spirit and diesel, saying ordinary Nigerians were already “breathing fresh air” because of local refining.

They warned that if the refinery were undermined, the consequences would be severe for investor confidence and the wider economy.

“This movement is about economic salvation. If we allow them to kill Dangote Refinery, no investor will ever risk bringing money into this country again. We must protect this refinery as our own,” Maishanu said.

PANEP added the Kaduna leg with a renewed call on the Federal Government to “crush every enemy of Nigeria’s economic progress,” urging swift policy and enforcement actions that would protect local refining capacity and punish those found to be undermining it.

The September 29 meeting between the PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery management over the ongoing industrial dispute ended in a deadlock after stretching from 4 p.m. into the early hours of Tuesday.

Following the stalemate, the Minister of Labour, Muhammad Dingyadi, announced that negotiations would resume at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

The follow-up session eventually began at about 3:50 p.m. at the Office of the National Security Adviser and lasted into the early hours of Wednesday, when a breakthrough was finally reached.

The dispute arose from allegations by PENGASSAN that the refinery engaged in mass transfers and sackings of union members, while replacing some Nigerian workers with foreign nationals, accusations the company repeatedly denied.

The federal government waded in to forestall further disruption, citing the dispute’s potential impact on the economy and national energy security.