Nigeria Liquefied & Compressed Gases Association (NLCGA) and a coalition of well-meaning Nigerians, under the aegis of the Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative and Guardians of Democracy and Development Initiative, have expressed their support for the Dangote Refinery, even as they flayed the National Union of Petroleum and National Gas Petroleum Tanker Drivers (NUPENG- LPG) for its demands on the refinery.
 
Alleging arbitrariness, NLCGA) decried the disruption of operations at the Dangote Refinery by NUPENG-LPG.    
 
In a statement signed at the weekend in Lagos by the Executive Secretary/CEO, NLCGA, Lanrewaju Baiyewu, the group described the NUPENG-PTD’s action as inimical to the nation’s economic progress, especially in the downstream sector.
 
The association further alleged that NUPENG extorted as much as N72,000 (across LPG Terminals nationwide, which was less than N30,000 two years ago) from LPG truck drivers before allowing them to load LPG, an unaccounted sum that contributes nothing to the sector’s growth or the overall nation’s development.
 
The NLCGA stressed that it stood in solidarity with Dangote Refinery in resisting NUPENG-PTD’s actions that were detrimental to the industry’s growth, and urged NUPENG to prioritise dialogue and respect existing agreements. 
 
“NUPENG’s actions are detrimental to Nigeria’s economic progress, and it’s imperative that the government steps in to rein in these illegal practices carried out under the guise of unionism.”

The government must intervene to protect the interests of Nigerian workers and the broader economy, ensuring that union activities are conducted within the bounds of the law and without harming the nation’s economic stability.”

ALSO, the Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative and Guardians of Democracy and Development Initiative applauded the management of Dangote Refinery over the steady reduction in the prices of Petroleum products in the country.
 
At a press conference addressed by its official, Danesi Momoh, in Abuja yesterday, the coalition vowed to mobilise Nigerians to resist any attempt to reverse the gains already being recorded by Dangote Refinery.
 
The coalition urged the management of Dangote Refineries to remain committed, steadfast, focused, and patriotic in their businesses even in the face of attempts by unpatriotic persons to return the country to the inglorious period of petroleum products importation, criminal subsidy regime, sundry oil racketeering, and creation of product scarcity.
 
The coalition contended that the coming of Dangote Refinery had not only liberated Nigeria from a strong oil cartel that had held the country down for decades, it also made Nigeria an exporter of refined petroleum products, wiping a national shame of being a crude oil exporter, but a net importer of refined products.
 
The coalition particularly faulted the claim that Dangote Refineries was trying to become a monopoly to the detriment of Nigerians.