Members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), numbering over 100 wednesday staged a protest against indiscriminate importation of fuel.

They urged Nigerians  to discourage indiscriminate importation of petroleum products, even from friendly nations, saying “if we truly want to protect our economy and create jobs.

NANS also condemned  what they called “Petroleum Industry Revitalisation Sabotage,” accusing some persons of frustrating efforts to make Nigeria self-sufficient in petroleum refining.

Protesters armed with placards with  various inscriptions including,  “Supporting Dangote is Supporting Nigeria’s Economy,” “Stop the War Against Local Industry,” “No to Wickedness in High Places,” and “Defend National Development,” 

The protesters who marched from Summit Junction in Asaba, Delta state capital, urged Nigerians to resist any attempt to cripple Nigeria’s private refineries.

Addressing Journalists, NANS National President, Comrade Olushola Oladoja, who spoke through the association’s National Financial Secretary, Comrade Jeremiah Friday Ohomah, said that Nigerian students would no longer “watch enemies of progress sabotage the revitalization of the nation’s petroleum industry.”

“Nigeria is blessed with abundant crude oil, yet we remain a paradoxical importer of refined petroleum products. Our refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri were deliberately crippled through decades of sabotage, mismanagement, and collusion between local and foreign oil interests. This has forced us into a shameful cycle of exporting crude at giveaway prices and importing refined products at cutthroat costs”, Oladoja said.

He warned that the failure to protect indigenous refiners—particularly the Dangote Refinery and other emerging private refineries would repeat the tragedy that befell Nigeria’s once-thriving textile industry.

“The destruction of the textile industry must never be repeated in the petroleum sector, the Dangote Refinery represents a new dawn in Nigeria’s industrial revival, one that must be protected, supported, and sustained by all means.”

The students accused a powerful network of oil importers, foreign traders, and some local unions of conspiring to undermine private refinery operations.