Members of the National Association of Oduduwa Students (NAOS), the Coalition of Yoruba Students, and the Yoruba Movement staged a peaceful protest on Tuesday in Ibadan, Oyo State, expressing solidarity with the Dangote Refinery amid its ongoing conflict with major oil sector unions.

The demonstrators converged at the Iwo Road Roundabout, near the end of the Ibadan-Lagos Expressway, chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with messages such as: “Don’t Kill Dangote Refinery”,  “#StopSabotagingFuelInNigeria”,  “ #EndPENGASSAN”,  “ #EndDAPPMAN”, “ #DangoteRefineryIsANationalAsset”, “ #StopSabotage”

Clad in coordinated shirts bearing the slogan “Don’t Kill Dangote Refinery,” the protesters marched through major streets, calling on the Federal Government to intervene in what they described as a “coordinated campaign by vested interests” to undermine the refinery’s operations.

Speaking during the protest, NAOS President, Olalere Adetunji, appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and relevant authorities to urgently step in and prevent actions by unions and fuel marketers from derailing the country’s push for fuel independence.

“We are using this opportunity to appeal to the Federal Government to protect this strategic national investment,” Adetunji said. “The refinery is critical to ending fuel importation and achieving energy self-sufficiency in Nigeria.”

The protest comes amid a growing standoff between the Dangote Refinery and key industry stakeholders, including the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN). Security personnel, including officers from the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), were present at the protest site to maintain order and ensure the peaceful conduct of the march.

More details to follow…