Thousands of Nigerians under the banner of Partners for National Economic Progress (PANEP) on Monday shut down Kaduna city in a massive protest, urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take decisive action against those sabotaging efforts to achieve local refining of petroleum products.

The protesters, who gathered at Murtala Mohammed Square before marching through major streets, accused a powerful oil cartel of frustrating Nigeria’s economic progress by undermining local refinery initiatives, particularly the operations of the Dangote Refinery.

Chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Support Local Refining,” “Crush Economic Saboteurs,” and “Protect Dangote Refinery,” the demonstrators said their struggle was aimed at freeing Nigeria from decades of economic manipulation.

Two leaders of the group, Comrade Igwe Ude-Umanta and Comrade Dahiru Umar Maishanu, said the call on President Tinubu was necessary to rescue the nation from a cartel that profits from importation and artificial fuel scarcity at the expense of national development.

“This is not about Dangote alone; it’s about Nigeria’s economic survival,” Ude-Umanta declared. “Mr. President must rise to the occasion and stamp his feet. He must crush those sabotaging our march toward self-reliance in refining.”

According to him, the protest — themed “National Unity Against Sabotage: Reclaiming Our Petroleum Sector for the People” — was part of a nationwide campaign to defend local refining from “economic terrorists” determined to keep Nigeria dependent on fuel importation.

Ude-Umanta also accused some oil unions and importers of colluding with foreign interests to frustrate the Dangote Refinery project, warning that failure to act decisively could discourage future investors.

“If they succeed in killing the Dangote Refinery, no investor will ever bring money here again,” he warned.

He further described the recent actions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) as “economic terrorism,” alleging that the union’s disruption of refinery operations was part of a larger plot to destabilise Nigeria’s push for local refining.

“What PENGASSAN did was not unionism—it was sabotage,” he said. “The Federal Government should have arrested their leadership to deter others. No one should hide under the guise of labour activism to commit crimes against the economy.”

He urged President Tinubu, who also serves as Minister of Petroleum Resources, to ensure that local refineries such as Dangote’s are given crude oil at the same price sold to foreign refineries to sustain their operations and boost investor confidence.

On his part, Maishanu said the protest was a patriotic call to end decades of economic enslavement. “How can importers compete with producers? They are scared because local refining will expose their fraud and end their control over fuel pricing,” he said.

He alleged that the cartel was deliberately blocking the sale of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (Jet A1) from local producers to maintain inflated market prices. “They are punishing Nigerians to protect their greed,” he added.

The group commended Dangote Refinery for its impact on the domestic fuel market, noting that prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) have already begun to drop. “Nigerians are beginning to breathe fresh air from this refining revolution,” Maishanu said.

He urged the President to remain firm in his economic reform agenda, saying the refinery’s success was a test of his commitment to national industrial revival. “This is the time to prove that local investors matter,” he stressed.

The rally, which ended peacefully, echoed with chants of “Long live Dangote Refinery! Long live Nigeria!” as protesters vowed continued nationwide mobilisation until, in their words, “every saboteur of Nigeria’s economic progress is crushed.” (THE NATION)