In the wake of the revelation by the Dangote Group on its frustration in accessing crude oil, Nigerians on social media have called out International Oil Companies (IOCs) on sabotaging the process.

Civil Society organisations, Nigerian students and social media users have expressed their displeasure, stating that the Federal Government must protect the Dangote refinery against any form of saboteurs.

The state coordinator of a civil society group, known as Initiative for Defence of Democracy and Justice, Alhaji Aliyu Usman Kaoje, told journalists that “Let us sound a strong warning to them to desist forthwith whatever they are doing directly or indirectly to frustrate the operations of the refinery.”

Financial planning expert, Kalu Aja, queried that “If Dangote needs crude, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) should support its 20 per cent investment by giving Dangote its oil equity,” Aja said.

Speaking also on the development, Hector Igbikiowubo, publisher of Sweet Crude Reports asked that “how come the NNPC isn’t allotting all of its 445,000 barrels per day to the Dangote Refinery for refining?” He asked on Channels Television programme.

An X user, with the handle, AgriGATE Nigeria tweeted that “If @DangoteGroup @AlikoDangote refinery fail then @NigeriaGov can be said to be complicit in conspiracy against the refinery. American government goes extra length to protect interest of American companies. Ours can’t be left at mercy of international oil companies.”

Another user, Eguando, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to protect, liberate the economy by making the Dangote Refinery work.

”Dear President @officialABAT, the only refinery built by a Nigerian and African the last 40 yrs in Africa, that will liberate our economy and that of Africa should not fail. @AlikoDangote Refinery needs to get all the protection needed to succeed.

“They the IOCs have enjoyed exporting our Crude oil the last 60 years or more without building one refinery each or collectively building one for us as a country to reap the benefit, yet one Nigerian has taken the initiative and they are want to everything to derail it.”

Ayodeji Oluwadamilare added that “I am not even surprised there are people who want that refinery to fail. They enjoy the status quo of subsidy and don’t want it to end… Wicked humans… They will be shamed at last…”

Shimsun said: “The IOCs must be brought to heel and the corrupt civil servants at NMDPRA who are bent on keeping the system poisonously inefficient should be made to answer for their actions.”

Oseni Lanre stated that “The refinery has to work and it must now!”

It would be recalled that the Vice President, Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin, accused International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria of doing everything to frustrate the survival of Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals.

Edwin said the IOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating the refinery’s efforts to buy local crude by jerking up high premium price above the market price, thereby forcing it to import crude from countries as far as United States, with its attendant high costs.

According to him: “While the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) are trying their best to allocate the crude for us, the IOCs are deliberately and willfully frustrating our efforts to buy the local crude.  It would be recalled that the NUPRC, recently met with crude oil producers as well as refineries owners in Nigeria, in a bid to ensure full adherence to Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligations (DCSO), as enunciated under section 109(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). It seems that the IOCs’ objective is to ensure that our Petroleum Refinery fails. It is either they are deliberately asking for ridiculous/humongous premium or, they simply state that crude is not available. At some point, we paid $6 over and above the market price. This has forced us to reduce our output as well as import crude from countries as far as the US, increasing our cost of production.