The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced it will suspend the sale of petrol in naira, a development that has unsettled marketers and reignited concerns about fuel pricing and foreign exchange pressures.
In a notice sent to customers at exactly 6:42 pm on Friday, the refinery disclosed that the suspension would take effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025. The company explained that its crude-for-naira allocation had been exhausted, making it impossible to continue offering petrol in the local currency.
The circular, issued by the Group Commercial Operations of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, was titled “Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales, Effective 28th September 2025.” It further instructed customers with ongoing naira-based transactions to formally request refunds.
Part of the notice read: “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 will be effective from Sunday, 28th of September, 2025. We will provide further updates once the situation is resolved.”
This latest decision has sparked fresh anxieties within the oil and gas sector, especially as it coincides with a major labour dispute at the refinery. Over 800 Nigerian workers were reportedly laid off in recent weeks, drawing sharp criticism from labour unions and prompting calls for government intervention.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has accused the refinery of anti-labour practices and vowed to resist what it described as “an unjust and insensitive corporate decision.” Union leaders have threatened nationwide solidarity actions if the matter is not urgently addressed.
This is not the first time the refinery has suspended local currency transactions. In March 2025, Dangote briefly halted naira sales of refined products, citing insufficient allocations under the crude-for-naira programme. That decision stoked widespread fears of a creeping dollarisation of fuel sales in Nigeria and contributed to a spike in pump prices to nearly N1,000 per litre.
Analysts now warn that the latest suspension could further destabilise the downstream sector. With transactions likely to shift predominantly to the dollar, there are fears of another round of price increases. The Chief Executive Officer of Petroleumprice.ng, Jeremiah Olatide, cautioned that petrol prices could rise above N900 per litre, noting that the refinery had been instrumental in moderating pump prices in recent months.
The timing of the suspension, coming amid heated industrial unrest, has heightened concerns over the refinery’s role in Nigeria’s energy security. Stakeholders worry that the combination of suspended naira sales and labour disputes could undermine government efforts to stabilise the fuel market under ongoing reforms.
As the refinery remains central to the country’s strategy for reducing dependence on imported fuel, industry observers say the outcome of both crises,the suspension of naira sales and the labour face-off,will have far-reaching implications for the oil and gas sector and the wider economy.
