The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has suspended the sale of petrol in naira, a move that has unsettled marketers and raised concerns about fresh pressure on fuel pricing and foreign exchange.
In a notice to customers sent via email at 6:42 p.m. on Friday, the refinery said the suspension would take effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025, citing the depletion of its crude-for-naira allocation.
The statement, signed by the Group Commercial Operations of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and titled “Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales – Effective 28th September 2025”, advised customers with pending naira-based transactions to seek refunds.
“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.
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Kindly note that this suspension of Naira sales for PMS will be effective from Sunday, September 28, 2025. We will provide further updates regarding the resumption of supply once the situation has been resolved,” the refinery said.
The announcement comes amid escalating disputes at the refinery, where labour unions have accused management of sacking more than 800 Nigerian workers.
On Friday, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) condemned the alleged move, describing it as “an unjust and insensitive corporate decision,” and warned of nationwide solidarity actions if the issue is not resolved.
The refinery’s management has denied the allegations, insisting that only a few employees were disengaged following confirmed acts of sabotage.
This is the second time in 2025 that the refinery has halted naira-based transactions. In March, it briefly suspended sales of refined products in local currency, citing inadequate crude-for-naira allocations, a decision that fuelled fears of dollarisation in the downstream sector and pushed petrol pump prices close to N1,000 per litre.
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Industry players say the latest suspension could disrupt fuel supply and pricing stability, while also adding pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves as more marketers may be forced to source dollars for imports.
