By Saminu Sodiq Bayonle / World Lens Reporter
Ibadan, Oyo State – Tuesday, October 7, 2025
A coalition of student bodies under the banners of the National Association of Oduduwa Students (NAOS), Coalition of Yoruba Students, and the Yoruba Movement on Tuesday staged a peaceful demonstration in Ibadan, Oyo State, to express support for the Dangote Refinery amid its ongoing dispute with oil unions and marketers.
The demonstrators, who gathered at the Iwo Road Roundabout along the Ibadan–Lagos Expressway, marched through major routes chanting solidarity songs and waving placards with inscriptions such as “Don’t Kill Dangote Refinery,” “#StopSabotage,” “#EndPENGASSAN,” “#EndDAPPMAN,” and “#DangoteRefineryIsANationalAsset.”
Wearing coordinated shirts bearing the slogan “Don’t Kill Dangote Refinery,” the protesters accused some vested interests of attempting to undermine the refinery’s operations — a project they described as “Nigeria’s biggest industrial investment and a symbol of Africa’s economic transformation.”
Speaking during the rally, NAOS President, Olalere Adetunji, urged President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities to safeguard the refinery from what he termed “coordinated sabotage” by oil unions and marketers.
“We appeal to the Federal Government to protect this national investment and ensure that actions by labour unions and marketers do not derail Nigeria’s quest for energy independence,”
Adetunji said.
Security operatives, including personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), were stationed around the protest area to maintain order as the rally continued peacefully.
The protest comes amid heightened tensions between the Dangote Refinery, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) over regulatory and operational issues.
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