Thousands of protesters comprising students, workers, women, youths, and members of various civil society organizations on Thursday stormed the Niger Bridge, linking Asaba in Delta State and Onitsha in Anambra State, to demand greater government support for local refineries, including the Dangote Refinery.

The demonstrators, under the aegis of the Partners for National Economic Progress (PANEP), carried placards with inscriptions such as “Stop Petroleum Importation Now,” “Encourage Local Refineries,” “Oil Cartels, Stop the Sabotage,” “Dangote Refinery is a Blessing to Our Economy,” and “Nigerians Demand Prioritization of Crude Supply to Local Refineries.”

Chanting solidarity songs, the protesters occupied the entrance to the Niger Bridge, causing a gridlock that left vehicular movement paralyzed for several hours.

Heavily armed security operatives were deployed to maintain order and prevent hoodlums from hijacking the peaceful demonstration.

Speakers at the rally, including student leaders, youth representatives, and coordinators of civil society organizations, accused oil cartels of frustrating Nigeria’s quest for self-sufficiency in petroleum refining.

They emphasised the need for the Federal Government to ensure a consistent supply of crude oil to local refineries at fair and stable prices.

Reading a speech on behalf of the group, one of the conveners, Comrade Danesi Momoh, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his support for local refining initiatives and urged him to intensify efforts against economic sabotage in the oil sector.

He explained that the Asaba protest, tagged “Mega Citizens’ Rally and the Movement Against Sabotage and Economic Saboteurs in the Nigerian Petroleum Sector,” followed similar rallies held in Abuja on October 2 and Kaduna on October 6, 2025.

Momoh said the movement’s goal is to “end economic sabotage, save the Dangote Refinery, and strengthen the campaign for sustainable local refining to protect jobs and revive Nigeria’s economy.”

The rally drew hundreds of residents, onlookers, and passersby who expressed support for the protesters’ demands, urging the government to heed their call to safeguard the nation’s economic future.

He further said, ”This is a powerful movement of the people to demand freedom from a heartless unpatriotic cartel that has held the country down. Their reign is over’.

”This has become evident, the Nigerian people have risen to this very important and urgent occasion of national economic salvation by rooting out all manifestations of the Nigerian oil cartel, whether in the forms of PENGASSAN, NUPENG, DAPPMAN, PETROAN or Government Agencies’.

”These people and their agents are public enemies, with PENGASSAN which has shown the ugliest face as public enemy number one! There will no longer be any space for dubious labour leaders and their cohorts to operate and no way for them to hide their monstrous faces.

He added, ”These people must leave the Dangote Refinery alone. The business space is wide. They should find their own space.

”Dangote Refinery has faced too many fights that nobody can pretend that there is no orchestrated attack on the business. When did it become a crime to invest and to do so patriotically?”

Other leaders who addressed the massive Asaba rally included Comrade Olamide Odumosu, and Comrade Adeyeye Olugbenga.

They said they volunteered themselves to demand an end to the injustices and unpatriotic practices in the nation’s petroleum sector.

They commended Nigerians and the media for their solidarity with the Asaba mass rally.

Among the conveners of the rally included Comrade Igwe Ude-umanta, Comrade Olayinka Dada, Comrade Olamide Odumosu, Comrade Omaga E. Daniel, Comrade Jabir Maiturari, Comrade Solomon Adodo, Comrade Adeyeye Olugbenga, Comrade Jide Wolimoh, and Comrade Fisayo Olubayo. (The Nation)