Jitters over petrol price as Dangote suspends product sales in Naira

By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

Concerns about possible hike in prices of fuel heightened across Nigeria on Saturday morning after news emerged that Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced suspension of sale of petrol in naira to local marketers.

There were also fears that the decision by the refinery may put pressure on foreign exchange market, leading to decline in value of the naira as marketers shop for naira to buy products from the refinery.

Dangote, in an email sent to customers at 6:42 pm on Friday, announced that the suspension will take effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025.

The company said its decision was triggered by the depletion of its crude-for-naira allocation, in a statement, by its Group Commercial Operations of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals.

In the statement titled “Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales – Effective 28th September 2025”, Dangote Refinery advised customers with pending naira-based transactions to request refunds.

It reads in part: “We write to inform you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals has been selling petroleum products in excess of our Naira-Crude allocations and, consequently, we are unable to sustain PMS sales in Naira going forward.

“Kindly note that this suspension of Naira sales for PMS will be effective from Sunday, 28th of September, 2025. We will provide further updates regarding the resumption of supply once the situation has been resolved.

“All customers with PMS transactions in Naira who would like a refund of their current payments should formally request the processing of their refund.”

“Not The First Time”

Dangote Refinery had also suspended sales of petroleum products in naira briefly in March 2025, also citing inadequate crude-for-naira allocations.

The decision was suspended after the intervention of the Federal Executive Council, FEC.

In its intervention then, FEC had affirmed that the crude-for-naira policy is “key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining”.

Also, the Minister of Finance Wale Edun led a meeting of the Technical Sub-Committee on the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative to address impediments to the implementation of the initiative.

At the end of the meeting, the stakeholders reaffirmed the government’s continued commitment to the full implementation of this strategic initiative, as directed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

“Thus, the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative is not a temporary or time-bound intervention, but a key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining, bolster energy security, and reduce reliance on foreign exchange in the domestic petroleum market.

“As with any major policy shift, the Committee acknowledges that implementation challenges may arise from time to time. However, such issues are being actively addressed through coordinated efforts among all parties.

“The initiative remains in effect and will continue for as long as it aligns with the public interest and supports national economic objectives,” the statement read.

FEC had in July 2024 directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira as part of moves to guarantee price stability of petroleum products and reduce demand for dollars in the country.