An announcement by the Dangote Refinery to stop selling petrol in naira has unnerved marketers and sparked new worries about fuel prices and reliance on foreign exchange.
The Dangote refinery announced in an email to its clients at precisely 6:42 p.m. on Friday that the decision will go into effect on Sunday, September 28, 2025, citing the depletion of its crude-for-naira allocation as the cause.
The notice, which read, “Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales – Effective 28th September 2025,” was signed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals’ Group Commercial Operations.
Customers with pending naira-based transactions were also asked to formally request refunds from the company.
It read 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.
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“All customers with PMS transactions in Naira who would like a refund of their current payments should formally request the processing of their refund.”
The news coincides with Dangote refinery’s ongoing, acrimonious conflict with labour unions over the purported mass termination of over 800 Nigerian employees, which has sparked indignation and demands for government action.
Dangote refinery had previously suspended local currency transactions. Dangote temporarily stopped selling refined goods in naira in March 2025, claiming that its allotment under the crude-for-naira scheme was insufficient to satisfy the rising demand at home.
Concerns over the dollarization of fuel sales in Nigeria were then raised by the move, which caused gas prices to rise to about N1,000 per litre.
Following this, the chief executive officer of Petroleumprice.ng, Jeremiah Olatide, warned that the latest move could cause volatility in the downstream sector once more, with concerns about a possible increase in petrol prices if transactions are shifted primarily to dollars.
He also noted that the Dangote Refinery had played a significant role in keeping pump prices lower in recent months.
The move also coincides with heightened industrial tension at the refinery. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria(PENGASSAN) on Friday accused the company of anti-labour practices, following the termination of hundreds of Nigerian workers.
Union officials have threatened nationwide solidarity strikes if the issue is not resolved, vowing to oppose what they have called “an unjust and insensitive corporate decision.”
Given the refinery’s importance to Nigeria’s energy security, stakeholders fear that the government’s attempts to calm the gasoline market under the present reform agenda may be jeopardised by the simultaneous crises, suspension of naira sales, and labour unrest.
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