by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Protesters, under the guise of ‘Partners for National Economic Progress’ (PANEP), took over major streets in Kaduna City Monday, accusing oil industry cartels of “sabotaging local refining efforts” and Nigeria’s economic recovery.
The protest, which started around 8am, at Murtala Mohammed Square and moved through major roads in the city, went round with protesters carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs.
The mammoth crowd, who displayed signposts with inscriptions as “Protect Local Refining,” “End Fuel Import Cartel,” and “Support Dangote Refinery,” called on government to take steps against what they described as a “coordinated effort to keep Nigeria dependent on imported fuel.”
Leaders of the protest, Comrade Igwe Ude-Umanta and Comrade Dahiru Umar Maishanu, addressed the protesters separately, saying, the march was part of a larger campaign happening across the country to expose “economic saboteurs.”
According to Maishanu, “This struggle is against the cartel that destroyed our public refineries, killed the textile industry, and now wants to strangle the Dangote Refinery.”
On his part, Ude-Umanta declared with thunderous applause, saying, “We will not let them succeed. The days of holding Nigeria hostage are over.”
The organisers said the movement started in Abuja, on October 2, as part of what they described as a national push to stop groups that profit from Nigeria’s economic problems.
Protesters’ leaders pointed to Kaduna as a symbolic location, noting the sudden collapse of the textile industry in the city.
“Kaduna used to be a textile hub before the same pattern of sabotage destroyed it,” he lamented. “Today, they want to replicate same on our petroleum sector by frustrating local refining. We will resist them,” they insisted.
The protest, titled, ‘National Unity Against Sabotage: Reclaiming Our Petroleum Sector for the People,’ urged the federal government to take quick action to protect the Dangote Refinery from what the group called “systematic attacks” by oil importers.
Ude-Umanta criticized the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), alleging they were working against the success of the Dangote Refinery.
“What PENGASSAN did was not unionism, it was sabotage,” he said. “The Federal Government should have arrested their leadership to serve as deterrent. We cannot allow people to hide under Labour Unions to commit crimes against our economy.”
PANEP called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is also the Minister of Petroleum Resources, to make sure local refineries such as Dangote’s sold crude oil at the same rate given to foreign buyers. The group said this would help maintain the refinery’s operations and attract investment.
The protesters said the government must end or heavily tax fuel imports to protect local industries. “Countries that place tariffs are not stupid; they are protecting their economies,” Ude-Umanta added.
They also alleged that the oil cartel was blocking the sale of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (Jet A1) produced within Nigeria, keeping prices high for consumers. “They are punishing Nigerians to protect their greed,” he said.
Protesters commended the Dangote Refinery for early efforts made to bring down the prices of petrol and diesel, claiming it has already made life easier for many.
“This movement is about economic salvation,” Maishanu said. “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.”
The protest ended with a call on President Tinubu to, in their words, “crush every enemy of Nigeria’s economic progress.”