Group to Tinubu: Stop Fuel Import Licences, Probe Oil Cabals over Alleged Sabotage of Dangote Refinery

The Yoruba Council Worldwide (Igbimo Apapo Yoruba L’Agbaye) has urged President Bola Tinubu to suspend the issuance of petroleum import licences, alleging that some powerful oil cabals and labour leaders are plotting to frustrate the operations of the Dangote Refinery and undermine the nation’s quest for energy independence.

In a petition dated November 3, 2025, and signed by its President, Oladotun Hassan, the Council—alongside several allied organisations including the Nigeria Coalition Group (NCG), Nigeria Youth Coalition (NYC), Coalition of Southern Groups (CSG), and the National Youth Stakeholders Forum (NYSF)—accused certain individuals in the oil sector of economic sabotage and corruption.

The petition warned that continued issuance of import licences by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) runs contrary to Section 317 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), stressing that such actions threaten the country’s energy security.

Hassan alleged that some leaders of key oil unions—among them PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo, the union’s Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, and IPMAN’s Public Relations Officer, Chinedu Ukadike—were colluding with oil cabals and officials of government agencies to sabotage the nation’s refining efforts.

He, therefore, called on the President to order a full forensic investigation into the activities and finances of the accused parties to uncover what he described as “monumental fraud” and “economic blackmail.”

The Council further claimed that certain union members had deliberately disrupted crude and gas supplies to the Dangote Refinery in what it described as an “act of economic terrorism,” intended to frustrate Dangote’s contribution to ending fuel scarcity and stabilising pump prices.

To safeguard the country’s refining capacity, the Council proposed a “crude exploration nationalisation policy synergy scheme” to guarantee a steady supply of crude to local refineries and support indigenous investors. It also urged the government to consider imposing higher tariffs—or an outright ban—on imported petroleum products to protect domestic refining, citing similar measures adopted by the United States.

Hassan commended Aliko Dangote’s recent N2 trillion investment in 10,000 new tanker trucks for nationwide distribution of refined products, describing the move as “patriotic and heartwarming,” and said the refinery had survived no fewer than 22 sabotage attempts allegedly orchestrated by corrupt insiders and external collaborators.

As part of its advocacy, the Yoruba Council announced plans to hold a “Grand Solidarity and Thank You Rally” in honour of Dangote and President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at JJT Park, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. Participants are expected to appear in white shirts and jeans as a symbol of peace and unity.