The ongoing faceoff involving the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and PENGASSAN is worsening by the day. The Forum of Concerned Nigerian Consumers recently urged the Federal Government and the Department of State Services to intervene as soon as possible.
At a press conference in Abuja, the Forum accused the union of playing politics with Nigeria’s fragile energy sector after its threat to picket the $20 billion refinery over alleged mass sackings.
According to Forum President, Olabisi Taiwo, PENGASSAN’s decision to halt crude oil and gas supplies to Dangote refinery is a desperate attempt by the union to undermine the multi-billion-dollar facility.
Taiwo insisted that citizens should see through the union’s mischievous plot, warning that the action could plunge Nigeria back into fuel scarcity and economic instability.
“The government must send a clear message: industrial blackmail will not be tolerated. The Dangote Refinery is our best chance at energy independence, and we must not allow vested interests to destroy it,” the forum said.
The Forum of Concerned Nigerian Consumers further noted that such inconsiderate decisions directly aided the rot that has turned refineries in the country into dens of corruption and mismanagement.
Olabisi concluded by saying that PENGASSAN should not be allowed to keep resisting reforms and discouraging privatisation.
“They resisted reforms, blocked privatisation, and crippled fuel supply with strikes. Their actions contributed to the rot that turned these refineries into relics of corruption and mismanagement,” the forum added.
