The battle for Nigeria’s energy independence has erupted into open confrontation, as the Yoruba Council Worldwide (YCW) and a coalition of civil society organizations throw their full weight behind Dangote Refinery, accusing entrenched oil cartels of holding the nation hostage to fuel importation.
In a fiery open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Council — joined by the Nigeria Coalition Group (NCG) and allied partners — alleged that a syndicate of union leaders, oil magnates, and regulatory insiders is deliberately sabotaging the refinery’s operations to preserve a corrupt fuel import racket that has drained Nigeria for decades.
“This is no longer about Dangote — it’s about Nigeria’s survival,” thundered Aare Oladotun Hassan, President of the Yoruba Council Worldwide. “Those who profit from the darkness of importation fear the light of self-reliance. But their time is up.”
The Council described the face-off between Dangote Refinery and oil unions including PENGASSAN, NUPENG, IPMAN, and DAPPMAN as a struggle between “national progress and economic treachery.”
It urged President Tinubu to suspend all petroleum import licences immediately, alleging that a clique within NNPCL and NMDPRA is colluding with foreign-linked marketers to frustrate domestic refining and maintain the billion-dollar import chain that has crippled the naira and inflated fuel prices.
“What we are witnessing is economic terrorism,” the statement read. “A refinery built to liberate Nigeria is being strangled by those who feed off her dependency.”
The coalition called for a forensic probe of oil unions’ finances, accusing their leaders of weaponizing strikes and manipulating supply lines to keep the country dependent on imported fuel.
To restore full national control, the group proposed a Crude Exploration Nationalisation Policy Synergy Scheme, aimed at guaranteeing domestic crude supply for local refineries — with a clear roadmap to help Dangote Refinery expand from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels. The expansion, it said, could unlock over 65,000 direct and indirect jobs, boost exports, and save billions in foreign exchange.
The Council also urged the Federal Government to raise import tariffs on petroleum products from 15% to 200%, or impose an outright ban on fuel importation, to protect indigenous investors and restore industrial dignity.
Citing intelligence from industry insiders, the Yoruba Council claimed Dangote Refinery has survived over 20 sabotage attempts, allegedly involving “corrupt insiders and international collaborators.” It called on the DSS, EFCC, NSA, NIA, and NFIU to investigate and bring the saboteurs to justice.
“They have attacked pipelines, manipulated crude allocations, and even engineered fake shortages to weaken this national project,” Hassan said. “But the Nigerian people will not be silent while a few merchants of misery destroy our future.”
Despite the opposition, the group hailed Dangote Group’s ₦2 trillion investment in 10,000 new tanker trucks for nationwide fuel distribution as “a bold vote of confidence in Nigeria’s economy and a symbol of industrial patriotism.”
As part of its campaign, the Yoruba Council has declared Wednesday, November 12, 2025, a National Day of Solidarity and ‘Thank You’ Rally in Lagos to mobilize Nigerians in support of Dangote Refinery and President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda at JJT Park, Alausa, Ikeja
“This is not politics — it’s a people’s revolution,” Hassan affirmed. “For decades, we’ve been prisoners of fuel importation. Today, we say: never again. Nigeria must rise and own her destiny.”
With the refinery saga now morphing into a national movement, analysts say the Yoruba Council’s fiery intervention could mark a turning point — reframing the debate from industrial rivalry to economic sovereignty, national pride, and freedom from foreign dependency.