Dangote Petroleum Refinery, on Saturday, raised the alarm that the recent directive issued by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria to cut crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery could inflict fresh rounds of fuel scarcity on ordinary Nigerians and cause huge revenue losses on the government.
The refinery, in a statement, described NUPENG’s directive as “criminal, reckless, and an act of economic sabotage”, warning that if enforced, it could disrupt the production and nationwide supply of critical petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene, and cooking gas.
Dangote refinery noted that these products are indispensable to daily life and the economy, warning that Nigerians at every level, from households to businesses and industries would bear the brunt of shortages.
The privately owned oil company noted that a sudden disruption in supply will result in untold hardship for millions of Nigerians.
The statement partly read, “The products that would be disrupted and stopped include but are not limited to aviation fuel, petrol, kerosene, diesel and cooking gas – all products that are used and required by all stripes of Nigerians and persons living in Nigeria, whether high and mighty or lowly and ordinary.”
“In what circumstance would it be justified for PENGASSAN to so disrupt and introduce insufferable hardship into the living conditions of Nigerians? None that we can see.
“The follow up question is, in whose interest and on whose behalf is PENGASSAN directing and intending to inflict such anarchic and criminal disruption upon the Nigerian society and persons living in Nigeria? Most certainly, not in the interest of the Nigerian State and/or the Nigerian public and citizens.”
The refinery warned that besides the immediate hardship that could be brought on the citizens, government’s revenue would also be dented, given the refinery’s status as one of the country’s largest taxpayers and contributors to both Federal and state coffers.
It further warned that any pause in operations would stall contributions to the national purse and undermine investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The statement added, “This is also economic sabotage against the Nigerian State at multiple levels. Dangote Refinery is the only refinery of its type in Africa and ordinarily should be the pride of all Nigerians as well as the governments of Nigeria. It should ordinarily have special protection and status and indeed qualifies as a strategic national asset”.
It further stated that an irreparable injury to the Dangote Refinery such as PENGASSAN has directed constitutes a national embarrassment to the country and a disincentive to external investors who ordinarily would have been encouraged by the success of Dangote Refinery to contemplate investing in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector or generally.
Appealing to the Federal Government and security agencies to act swiftly, the refinery urged Nigerians to take note of the “unquantifiable and irredeemable hardship which PENGASSAN wishes to inflict on all of us” if not checked, warning that fuel queues, energy shortages and price hikes could quickly resurface.
Dangote refinery also urged PENGASSAN to submit to amicable and legal resolution, rather than resorting to economic sabotage and mob action that could result in mayhem and chaos that could culminate in anarchy.
