A group under the aegis of the Arewa Youth Congress of Nigeria (AYCN) has staged a peaceful protest in Jos, the Plateau State capital, demanding that domestic crude be supplied to Dangote Oil Refinery.
The protesters who took their protest to the Jos Field Office of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said refining crude locally by Dangote would boost the nation’s economy.
NUPRC is responsible for ensuring compliance with petroleum laws, regulations and guidelines in the Upstream Oil and Gas Sector.
The youths, in large numbers, carried placards with different inscriptions: ‘Anybody fighting Dangote Oil Refinery is an enemy of Nigeria’; ‘the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) should ensure NNPL releases the crude oil due to Dangote Oil Refinery.’
Other inscriptions were that ‘NUPRC must comply with Section 109 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)’; ‘we demand that N1.7 billion worth of feedstock be given to Dangote Oil Refinery,’ among others.
AYCN Secretary, Mr Naankin Sammani, who led the protesters, said that they were on the streets to express their concern over the plight of Nigerians occasioned by the refusal to supply crude Dangote Refinery.
“We are here to call the attention of the key players in the Oil and Gas Industry to give the necessary crude supply to Dangote Refinery.
“The Dangote Refinery needs the encouragement of all Nigerians, especially the NUPRC.
He argued that NUPRC must ensure that Dangote Refinery gets sufficient crude to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians.
“We are appealing to the president to follow up on his directive to supply crude to Dangote in local currency,” he said.