By Mercy Akossun
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has warned that it will mobilise students across the country to occupy major highways if alleged attempts to sabotage private refineries, especially the Dangote Refinery, continue.
The warning came during a national protest staged simultaneously in Abuja, Asaba, and Lagos. Addressing journalists, NANS President, Comrade Olushola Oladoja, condemned what he described as a coordinated plot by vested interests to frustrate Nigeria’s refining independence and keep the country dependent on imported fuel.
Oladoja accused some trade unions, particularly the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), of attempting to force private refinery workers into union membership, calling it unconstitutional and inimical to industrial growth. He said such coercion violates Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association.
The students’ leader likened the development to the collapse of Nigeria’s once-thriving textile industry, which he said suffered from similar acts of sabotage and lack of government protection.
NANS issued five demands to the federal government, including priority crude oil allocation to local refineries, fair valuation of crude sold abroad, reduced reliance on fuel importation, protection of private investments, and an end to what it termed “union harassment and industrial blackmail.”
Oladoja warned that if the government fails to intervene decisively, NANS would intensify its protests nationwide. “We shall defend the survival of the Nigerian economy and the dignity of our nation,” he declared.
