Groups Reject FG’s Suspension of Petroleum Import Duty

A major confrontation is brewing in Nigeria’s oil sector as two powerful civic groups — the Yoruba Council Worldwide (YCW) and the Nigeria Coalition Group (NCG) — have openly rejected the Federal Government’s suspension of the 15% import duty on petroleum products
The groups accussed entrenched oil importation cabals of orchestrating the move to protect their multibillion-naira empire.
In the strongly worded declaration — signed by Aare Oladotun Hassan, Esq., President and Convener the groups alleged that the suspension—announced by the Presidency and affirmed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)—was not prompted by any public panic buying, but by “panic within the oil cabal network struggling to frustrate local refining.”
“There are no queues, no jerrycans, no scarcity. The panic is coming from the cabals, not Nigerians”
The groups insisted that no fuel queues or signs of panic buying have been recorded nationwide, directly contradicting the justification offered by regulatory authorities.
They described the suspension as “a calculated diversion and deceitful decoy” crafted by oil importers desperate to keep Nigeria dependent on foreign fuel despite the arrival of the 650,000 BPD Dangote Refinery — Africa’s largest.
The NCG and YCW argue that implementing the 15% import duty would make fuel importation less profitable and finally tilt the market in favour of locally refined products.
Instead, they claim, a powerful coalition of importers — DAPPMAN, IPMAN, PENGASSAN, and NUPENG — is “plotting to retain control of the fuel economy by undermining Dangote Refinery’s operations at all costs.”
The groups say the refinery is capable of stabilizing the nation’s supply, especially if allocated the crude oil volume it requires.
“Even with 50% crude supply, Dangote can meet 100% of Nigeria’s fuel demand at lower prices”
They maintain that denying the refinery sufficient crude allocation is a deliberate tactic to slow production and maintain importation profits.
In one of its most explosive claims yet, the coalition accused PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo of orchestrating repeated shutdown attempts on the Dangote Refinery, alleging a series of internal sabotage incidents that have resulted in an estimated ₦30 billion in losses.
The group further claims that Osifo has been actively working to discredit the refinery through unfounded monopoly narratives while simultaneously exerting pressure on the Presidency to suspend import tariffs in order to protect the interests of fuel importers.
The groups say petitions have already been filed with the EFCC, DSS, and the Nigeria Police Force demanding an urgent investigation.
At a massive solidarity rally in Lagos, where thousands of participants dressed in white and jeans to symbolize unity, the groups reiterated their core demands, calling for the immediate reinstatement of the 15% import duty, a total ban on the importation of PMS and AGO, the allocation of 100% crude oil supply to the Dangote Refinery, and firm protection for indigenous refiners against what they described as ongoing “economic warfare.”
They also presented a formal letter to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Speaker Mudashiru Obasa for transmission to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The coalition defended Aliko Dangote, calling him “a patriotic Nigerian who invested in a project capable of ending fuel scarcity once and for all.”
They revealed that the refinery has a massive tank farm reserve capable of storing enough petroleum products to supply the nation for up to one year in a crisis — a fact they say oil importers fear because it would render their operations irrelevant.
Observers say the latest confrontation signals a deepening power struggle within the country’s petroleum economy. If the government reinstates the tariff, oil importers lose dominance. If the suspension holds, local refining — and the Dangote project in particular — could suffer major setbacks.
What is clear is that Nigeria stands at a defining moment between two vastly different futures — one driven by a robust, refinery-powered domestic supply chain, and the other anchored to the decades-old cycle of fuel import dependence. As tensions rise between pro-refinery advocates and entrenched importation interests, the critical decision that will shape the nation’s energy trajectory now rests squarely with the Presidency.