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Former Senate Leader Ali Ndume has urged stakeholders in Nigeria’s downstream oil sector to unite and support each other rather than engage in damaging conflicts that could harm the country’s economy.
Ndume made the call in response to recent tensions between Dangote Refinery’s management and two major industry groups: the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN).
In a statement released Wednesday, Ndume addressed the industrial action launched by NUPENG, which led to the shutdown of oil depots across the country. The union’s protest was sparked by Dangote Refinery’s alleged refusal to allow its truck drivers to join the union, a move NUPENG claims violates the Trade Union Act. Meanwhile, DAPPMAN accused the refinery of attempting to stifle competition by selling fuel at lower prices to international traders than to local marketers.
The Department of State Services (DSS) stepped in to mediate, warning that the conflict posed a national security threat.
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Ndume expressed his concern about what he described as “a poisonous media narrative to paint Dangote in bad light in the eyes of Nigerians and the international community.”
He emphasized the risk Dangote took to build his refinery, contrasting it with previous administrations that granted refinery licenses but failed to act. “Before Dangote took the risk to build his refinery, previous administrations had granted licenses to many Nigerians. What did they do with it? Some of them only cashed on the incentives of crude oil allocation,” Ndume said.
He recalled that “licenses were granted to 12 private operators as far back as 2002 to build refineries and reduce dependence on imported fuel.” He added that in 2007, the Department of Petroleum Resources revoked the initial licenses and issued nine new ones to private investors.
Ndume criticized current fuel importers, saying, “Those parading themselves as fuel importers today didn’t seize the initiative to come together to build refineries.”
He also pointed out that during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, additional licenses for modular refineries were granted to private investors, yet “How many of them actually scratched the surface but they are ganging up to falsely accuse Dangote of monopolizing the market.”
The senator rejected claims of monopoly, saying, “It is wrong to talk about monopoly in a deregulated industry. There is no deliberate bottlenecks against anyone and no player has been accorded special concession to the detriment of others.”
Ndume called on regulatory bodies, including the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), to step in and prevent the escalating feud.
He urged all parties, including NUPENG and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), to engage in dialogue rather than fuel division. “I urge NUPENG, PENGASSAN, and all concerned stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue with Dangote rather than inciting division and undue sensationalism in the media,” Ndume said.
“Our common goal should be to balance labour rights with the imperatives of national development and not put ordinary citizens at the receiving end of a needless power tussle.”
The post Ndume urges NUPENG, DAPPMAN to back Dangote, not undermining him appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.
