The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has stopped selling petrol in naira, a move that has unsettled marketers and heightened fears of a fresh surge in pump prices.
In a notice sent to its customers on Friday evening, the refinery said the suspension would take effect from Sunday, September 28, following the depletion of its crude-for-naira allocation.
The memo, issued by its commercial operations department, instructed customers with ongoing naira-based transactions to apply for refunds.
“We have been selling petroleum products in excess of our Naira-Crude allocations and cannot sustain PMS sales in naira going forward. Effective Sunday, 28th September, 2025, sales will be suspended until the situation is resolved,” the statement read.
Industry analysts warn the move could send petrol prices spiralling beyond ₦900 per litre, given the likelihood of transactions shifting predominantly to dollars.
Chief Executive Officer of Petroleumprice.ng, Jeremiah Olatide, observed that the refinery had been a key factor in moderating fuel prices. “With its naira sales suspended, volatility may return to the downstream sector,” he said.
This is not the first time Dangote Refinery has halted naira-backed sales. A similar suspension in March pushed pump prices close to ₦1,000 per litre before government stepped in.
The development comes as the refinery faces a storm of industrial unrest. Labour unions accuse the company of sacking over 800 Nigerian workers while retaining expatriates. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria condemned the action as “anti-labour” and threatened nationwide protests if the dismissals are not reversed.
Union leaders have insisted they will resist what they described as “an insensitive corporate decision,” warning that solidarity actions could spread across the sector.
With Dangote Refinery considered critical to Nigeria’s fuel security, stakeholders fear the twin crises of halted naira transactions and labour tension could frustrate government efforts to stabilise the market under its reform drive.
