A coalition of civic actors under the umbrella of the Coalition for Economic Liberation and Social Justice (CELSJ) has called on Nigerians to rise in support of the Dangote Refinery, describing it as a vital project for the country’s energy future.
In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Godfrey Boma, after an emergency meeting in Abuja on Thursday night, the group urged citizens to remain vigilant and ensure that nothing disrupts the operations of the refinery.
According to Boma, any setback to the refinery’s progress would amount to pushing Nigeria back into heavy dependence on imported fuel.
He stressed that the refinery represents one of the most significant interventions aimed at boosting energy security, creating jobs, and reducing the burden on households.
CELSJ also called on the federal government and security agencies to safeguard the operations of the refinery while ensuring that all agreements with relevant stakeholders are respected and implemented in line with extant labour laws.
The coalition appealed for massive nationwide mobilisation to protect the refinery and secure the gains it has already brought to Nigeria’s economy.
“This is a defining moment. Nigerians must come together to defend this refinery because it is our collective lifeline,” the group declared.
“Barely forty-eight hours after the suspension of its strike, NUPENG has suddenly begun a new round of blackmail against the Dangote Refinery. We are reliably informed that a bribe of $5 million has exchanged hands between oil principalities and some compromised union leaders to frustrate the refinery’s operations,” Boma said.
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He added that the pattern of events showed a deliberate orchestration to force the refinery into endless disputes and delay its stabilisation, thereby pushing Nigeria back to dependency on imported fuel.
“Let it be known that Nigerians will never allow a handful of profiteers to sabotage a refinery that has already begun reshaping the country’s energy future. The same forces that built fortunes off decades of importation rackets are the ones now using NUPENG to destabilise the industry. This is a direct attack on the Nigerian people, and it must not stand,” the coalition declared.
The coalition urged Nigerians across all sectors to be vigilant, insisting that any attempt to destabilise the Dangote Refinery was tantamount to undermining national survival.
“Every kobo spent importing fuel is a direct theft of jobs, a direct sabotage of growth, and a direct burden on the Nigerian household. The Dangote Refinery is one of the few interventions that has begun to break the chains of dependency, and no cabal or compromised union must be allowed to drag us back into darkness,” CELSJ said.
The group further appealed to the federal government and security agencies not to allow “paid agents of the oil importation cartel” to hide under labour activism to weaken the refinery’s operations.
“We call on the DSS, the Ministry of Labour, and all security agencies to monitor NUPENG’s leadership closely. Nigerians will not tolerate another season of strikes designed and paid for by corrupt oil barons. Those who pocketed bribes to undermine national interest must be exposed and prosecuted without delay,” the statement read.
Boma called for massive nationwide mobilisation to protect the refinery against what he described as “internal enemies of progress.”
“This is a defining moment. Nigerians must come out en masse to say no to the agents of oil slavery. We must defend this refinery because it is our collective lifeline. NUPENG and their sponsors must understand that the days of holding Nigerians hostage with imported fuel rackets are gone forever,” the group declared.
