A Niger Delta monarch, King Bubaraye Dakolo, the Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Bayelsa State, has called on Nigerians to unionize and come together against the cabals in the nation’s oil and gas sector that promote continued dependence on imports in order to meet our petrol needs. According to the Chairman of the Bayelsa Traditional Rulers Council, this has be come imperative rather than organize against the interests of local product manufacturing.

Speaking against the backdrop of the dispute between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN, the monarch, who stated that the Niger Delta stands with Dangote, urged PENGASSAN to understand the people’s pains and not erode their gains. Therefore, he insisted that the federal, state, and local government, as well as the organized private sector, and most especially the unions to cooperate with Dangote Refinery as Alhaji Dangote refines petrol locally.

The monarch, while addressing journalists on Friday on the sideline of the tour of Dangote Refinery and Dangote Fertilizer Plant at Lekki, Lagos, said: “We in the Niger Delta have a sense of fulfillment that after years of not making the best of our natural resources, God has raised a man like Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the Dangote Refinery to end the distortions in the value chain of Nigeria’s oil and gas downstream industry by making local refining of our our resources a possibility.” In a statement, tagged: “The Niger Delta stands with local manufacturing and distribution: The Niger Delta stands with Dangote,” made available to journalists, he said the Niger Delta and Nigeria, in general, benefit and profit more when Nigeria’s oil and gas are locally refined and globally marketed.