The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Thursday staged a peaceful protest in Abuja, calling on the Federal Government to prioritize and support the revitalization of local refineries across the country.
The students, who gathered at the Unity Fountain, carried placards with inscriptions such as “Fix Our Refineries, Fix Our Future” and “Stop Importing What We Can Produce.”
According to NANS President, Lucky Emonefe, the protest was aimed at drawing attention to the urgent need for Nigeria to end its heavy dependence on imported petroleum products and to promote indigenous refining capacity.
“We can’t continue to export crude oil and import fuel at higher prices while millions of Nigerians suffer. The government must invest in our refineries, empower local engineers, and make Nigeria energy independent,” Emonefe said.
The students also urged the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to accelerate efforts toward rehabilitating the country’s four major refineries and support modular refinery operators with incentives and favorable policies.
Security agencies were on ground to ensure orderliness throughout the demonstration, which ended without any record of violence.
NANS emphasized that the protest was not politically motivated but a patriotic call for economic recovery, job creation, and national self-sufficiency.
“We want a Nigeria where our refineries work, our economy grows, and our future is secure,” the students chanted as they concluded their march.
The group vowed to sustain its advocacy until the government takes concrete action to strengthen Nigeria’s local refining industry.
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