Oyo students protest, back Dangote refinery
A group of students and activists from the National Association of Oduduwa Students, Coalition of Yoruba Students, and Yoruba Movement are holding a peaceful demonstration to show their support for Dangote Refinery.
The protest comes amid a heated dispute between the refinery and several oil unions, including PENGASSAN, NUPENG, and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria.
The protesters, who converged on Tuesday at Iwo Road Roundabout, end of Ibadan/Lagos expressway, Ibadan in Oyo State, were chanting different songs to show their solidarity.
Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Don’t Kill Dangote Refinery,” “Stop Sabotaging Fuel in Nigeria,” and “Dangote Refinery Is a National Asset,” the protesters expressed support for the refinery and condemned what they described as “sabotage” by certain vested interests.
Wearing matching shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Don’t Kill Dangote Refinery,” the students said their demonstration aimed to draw the government’s attention to alleged attempts to frustrate the operations of the multi-billion-dollar facility, regarded as Africa’s largest single-train refinery.
Speaking at the protest ground, the NAOS President, Olalere Adetunji, urged President Bola Tinubu and relevant government agencies to intervene urgently.
He said, “We want to use this period to appeal to the Federal Government to protect the refinery and ensure that labour and marketers’ actions do not derail Nigeria’s move toward fuel self-sufficiency.”
Security operatives, including the police and Federal Road Safety Corps, are on ground to maintain order as the protest continues.
