The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced the suspension of petrol sales in naira, a decision that has unsettled fuel marketers and reignited fears of higher pump prices and increased pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.
In a notice emailed to customers at 6:42 pm on Friday, the refinery said the suspension will take effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025, citing the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocation. The statement, issued by the company’s Group Commercial Operations unit and titled “Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales – Effective 28th September 2025,” instructed customers with ongoing naira-based transactions to formally request refunds.
The message read in part: “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.”
The move comes amid escalating industrial tension at the refinery following the termination of more than 800 Nigerian workers, a development that has drawn sharp criticism from labour unions and calls for government intervention. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria on Friday accused the company of anti-labour practices and vowed to resist what it described as “an unjust and insensitive corporate decision,” threatening nationwide solidarity actions if the issue is not resolved.
This is not the first time the refinery has halted local currency transactions. In March 2025, it temporarily suspended naira-based sales due to inadequate crude-for-naira allocations, a move that triggered widespread concern over the dollarisation of fuel trade and pushed pump prices close to N1,000 per litre. Analysts now warn that the latest suspension could once again destabilise the downstream sector and drive petrol prices above N900 per litre if transactions shift predominantly to dollars.
Petroleumprice.ng’s chief executive cautioned that Dangote Refinery’s role in moderating pump prices in recent months means the suspension could have immediate consequences for consumers and small businesses. Many MSMEs, already struggling with high operational costs, rely heavily on affordable fuel to power their activities, and a shift to dollar-denominated sales could further squeeze their margins and reduce profitability.
With the refinery considered central to Nigeria’s energy security and economic reforms, stakeholders warn that the twin challenges of naira sales suspension and labour unrest could undermine efforts to stabilise the fuel market and deepen uncertainty in the downstream sector.
