The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) has called on President Bola Tinubu to protect the Dangote Refinery from what it described as “saboteurs” seeking to frustrate Nigeria’s move toward self-sufficiency in petroleum refining.
The students, who marched through the streets of Benin City in protest, said the refinery was not just a business enterprise but a symbol of national industrial capability and economic independence.
Addressing journalists, the National President of NAPS, Comrade Eshiofune Paul Oghayan, said that vested interests within PENGASSAN, NUPENG, and DAPMAN were allegedly collaborating with fuel importation cartels to undermine the refinery’s operations.
“The Dangote Refinery is not just a private investment; it is a national strategic asset,” Oghayan declared.
“Any sabotage against the refinery must be treated as economic terrorism.”
He urged the Federal Government to ensure 100% crude oil allocation to the refinery, saying that full domestic supply would help crash fuel prices, strengthen the naira, and halt the outflow of foreign exchange spent on fuel imports.
While commending President Tinubu for approving a 15% reduction in fuel imports, NAPS insisted that “half-measures cannot deliver full recovery.”
“Nigeria must refine what we use. We demand national priority for locally refined fuel in government procurement, aviation, transport, power, and defense sectors,” Oghayan added.
The student body further called on the president to dismantle the fuel importation cartel and back genuine efforts toward national industrialization.
The protest adds to the growing public debate around the refinery’s operations and the broader implications for Nigeria’s energy security, foreign exchange stability, and economic recovery.
