The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has alleged that powerful cabals are behind a plot to sabotage the operations of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, warning that such actions threaten Nigeria’s economy and investment reputation.
In a statement on Sunday, October 5, by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. T.A. Muhammad-Baba, the ACF said the refinery, regarded as “Nigeria’s largest and most modern indigenous crude oil processing outfit,” has faced continuous attacks from vested interests trying to maintain their control over the oil sector.
The Forum said the refinery has endured multiple challenges, including regulatory interference, crude oil supply disruptions, and pressure from labour unions.
“The challenges are clearly the handiwork of entrenched subterranean interests or cabals bent on maintaining their suffocating hold on the oil sector and the national economy,” it stated.
It also condemned alleged efforts to force refinery workers to join the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), describing it as coercive and unconstitutional.
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“The constitutional provision does not confer automatic membership on anyone; it is an individual’s right to accept or reject membership,” the ACF said.
The Forum criticised PENGASSAN for allegedly disregarding a court order restraining it from interfering with the refinery’s operations.
It supported Senators Adams Oshiomhole and Mohammed Ali Ndume, who advised that the refinery should stabilise before any unionisation efforts begin.
Describing the refinery as a “strategic national asset,” the ACF urged the Federal Government to protect it from sabotage and consider listing it under a National Register of Strategic Assets.
It also called for a judicial commission of inquiry to uncover those behind persistent industrial disruptions.
“Protecting such a facility is not about one businessman; it is about safeguarding the nation’s economic future,” the Forum stressed.