Students Back 15% Import Duty On Petrol, Diesel

The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) has thrown its weight behind the federal government’s 15% import duty on petrol and diesel, saying it would protect the local oil and gas industry.

Senate president of NAPS Comrade Oyewumi Festus Ayomide who stated this during a peaceful rally in Lagos on Tuesday, lauded President Bola Tinubu for the initiative.

He said, “Our position is  loud, clear, and unambiguous: we stand firmly in support of the Dangote Refinery and charge the Federal Government to protect and prioritize local refining capacity.

“This country must process its own crude, create jobs, end needless import dependency, and put the future of Nigerian youth ahead of narrow short-term profit.

“The recent approval of a 15% import duty on petrol and diesel is a policy that recognises truth and begins the work of correcting decades of dysfunction in our petro-leum sector.

“We congratulate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for moving decisively to protect domestic refiners and local industry. The 15% duty sends an important signal. Nigeria will not allow its energy market to be undercut by cheaper, often subsidized imports while domestic investments like the Dangote Refinery struggle to compete.

“This policy will help create the market certainty needed for local refineries to run profitably, create stable jobs, and reduce foreign exchange pressure on our economy.”

The group applauded the Dangote Group for building and operating Africa’s largest private refinery, a transformational national asset that already processes about 650,000 barrels per day and is projected to expand to 1.4 million barrels per day.

They said the expansion represents a bold statement of faith in Nigeria’s potential and a massive boost to Nigerias quest for energy independence, job creation, and industrial growth.

They however, said for this refinery to fulfil its promise, there is a need consistent and guaranteed crude supply from our national producers.

To achieve this, they call for total ban on importation of refined fuel.

“We demand a total ban on the importation of refined fuel, similar to the ban on rice instituted during the regime of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Nigeria must refine at home what it produces,” they said.

According to them, the Federal Government must guarantee full and priority crude allocation to the Dangote Refinery and other domestic refineries.

“We cannot claim to own one of the best refineries in the world and still export crude only to re-import refined products,” they said.

The student body also called for immediate investigation and scrapping of unions in the oil sector, describing them as saboteur.

“It is glaring that certain downstream actors have over time strangled government-owned refineries and frustrated national self-sufficiency.

“Therefore, we demand an immediate, independent investigation into the conduct of PENGASSAN, NUPENG, DAPMAN, and their cohorts.

“If these bodies are found to have acted to sabotage national refineries or have engaged in corrupt or anti-national practices, we demand their deregistration (scrapping) or decisive legal restructuring by the appropriate regulatory and judicial institutions.”

They urged government, schools, and industries to launch a patriotic “Refine Nigeria, Buy Nigeria” campaign to encourage the use of locally refined products.

This they said will strengthen our currency, empower local industries, and create sustainable jobs for our youth.

They said, “The National Assembly should urgently enact a Local Refining Protection and Development Act, making it unlawful for any group, individual, or association to engage in acts that sabotage domestic refining or obstruct crude supply to local refineries.”

The student warned labour groups, depot owners, marketers, and other downstream stakeholders who may seek to frustrate these reforms, to desist from doing so or face dire consequence.

“Any further calculated or uncalculated moves by PENGASSAN, NUPENG, DAPMAN, and their cohorts to sabotage national interest will be met with resolute action from Nigerian students across the federation. Polytechnic students will mobilize peacefully, lawfully, and decisively against any attempt by the executives of those bodies to place sectional advantage above the survival and prosperity of this nation. Dangote Refinery has come to stay, and Nigeria’s economy must be liberated and independent.

“We will not allow them to kill this refinery or destroy our nation’s quest for true energy sovereignty.

“We call on these unions to act responsibly, cease destabilizing rhetoric and actions, and instead engage in good faith with government, Dangote, and other stakeholders to prioritize the national interest.”