Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, has urged players in Nigeria’s downstream oil sector to support one another instead of engaging in a war of attrition which has the potential of destroying the nation’s economy.

Ndume made the appeal following the face-off between the management of Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers as well as the Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association of Nigeria.

The federal lawmaker made this appeal in a statement on Wednesday, expressing concerns over what he called “a poisonous media narrative to paint Dangote in bad light in the eyes of Nigerians and the international community.” Senator Ndume said, “Before Dangote took the risk to build his refinery, previous administrations had granted licenses to many Nigerians. What did they do with it? Some of them only cashed on the incentives of crude oil allocation.”

He further noted that licenses were granted to 12 private operators as far back as 2002 to build refineries and reduce dependence on imported fuel.

“The second round of licenses was done in 2007 by the then Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) after revoking the first batch and granted nine new licenses to private investors. Those parading themselves as fuel importers today didn’t seize the initiative to come together to build refineries,” he said.

Ndume emphasized that it is wrong to talk about monopoly in a deregulated industry, adding that there is no deliberate bottleneck against anyone and no player has been accorded special concession to the detriment of others.

“How many of them actually scratched the surface but they are ganging up to falsely accuse Dangote of monopolizing the market,” he queried.

The lawmaker urged regulatory agencies in the industry, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, to intervene to prevent an all-out feud among the players.

“I urge NUPENG, PENGASSAN, and all concerned stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue with Dangote rather than inciting division and undue sensationalism in the media,” he said.

“Our common goal should be to balance labour rights with the imperatives of national development and not put ordinary citizens at the receiving end of a needless power tussle,” Ndume added.