Groups urge Dangote refinery not to make subsidy payment to DAPPMAN
The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON) and the Nigerian Interfaith Forum (NIF) have backed the refusal of Dangote refinery and petrochemicals not to make a backdoor pay of N1.505 trillion to Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN). The organisations said that the demand was not just outrageous but a […]
The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON) and the Nigerian Interfaith Forum (NIF) have backed the refusal of Dangote refinery and petrochemicals not to make a backdoor pay of N1.505 trillion to Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN).
The organisations said that the demand was not just outrageous but a treachery against the Nigerian people.
Addressing a press conference on Friday in Abuja, the organisations said the demand by DAPPMAN was an economic sabotage disguised as business.
The text of the press conference was signed by Comrade Ibrahim Suleiman
President, Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON); Mrs. Grace Okonkwo National Secretary, Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON); Rev. Dr. Matthew Ayodele, National Chairman, Nigerian Interfaith Forum (NIF) and Imam Musa Abdullahi, National Secretary, Nigerian Interfaith Forum (NIF)
“We cannot overlook the suffering of ordinary Nigerians. Millions are trapped in a daily battle with hunger, inflation, and hardship. Mothers skip meals so their children can eat, fathers walk long distances to save transport fares, and young people lose hope daily as the cost of living climbs beyond reach.
“At such a critical time, for DAPPMAN to demand that Nigerians underwrite their inefficiencies with ₦1.5 trillion yearly is nothing but wickedness. It would rob our hospitals of funding, deny schools resources, cripple infrastructure development, and keep our nation shackled to poverty. This is not subsidy — it is extortion,” the text read.
According to the organisations, the demand is “self-serving: ₦75 per litre for coastal freight and ops cost, translating to ₦1.505 trillion, is nothing but greed,” they said.
“We stand firmly with Dangote Refinery as a national asset, a beacon of industrial progress, and a pillar of Nigeria’s refining revolution.
“We condemn DAPPMAN as an exploitative cartel seeking to strangle Nigerians and plunge the nation back into subsidy fraud,” they stressed.
They also called for the strengthening of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to prioritise and protect local refining over importation cartels.
“Empower anti-trust and anti-monopoly laws to dismantle cartels that prey on Nigerians.
“We will publish periodic watchlists of companies and individuals found sabotaging local refining and fueling hardship, so Nigerians know their true enemies.
“We urge the Federal Government to stand firm, Nigerians to stand united, and Dangote Refinery to stand strong. Together, we will ensure that no group, no cartel, and no vested interest will derail Nigeria’s refining revolution.”