The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced the suspension of petrol sales in naira, a development that has unsettled marketers and reignited concerns about fuel pricing and foreign exchange pressure.
In an email sent to customers at exactly 6:42 pm on Friday, the refinery disclosed that the suspension would take effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025. It cited the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocation as the reason for the decision.
The notice, signed by the Group Commercial Operations of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, was titled “Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales – Effective 28th September 2025.”
Customers with ongoing naira-based transactions were advised to request refunds. The statement read:
“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.
“All customers with PMS transactions in Naira who would like a refund of their current payments should formally request the processing of their refund.”
This announcement comes at a time the refinery is locked in a bitter dispute with labour unions over the alleged mass dismissal of more than 800 Nigerian workers, sparking outrage and calls for government intervention.
This is not the first time the refinery has halted local currency transactions.
In March 2025, it briefly suspended sales of refined products in naira, insisting that its crude-for-naira allocations were inadequate to meet rising domestic demand. That decision fueled concerns about the “dollarisation” of fuel sales, pushing pump prices close to N1,000 per litre.
Analysts fear the latest move could once again destabilise the downstream sector.
Meanwhile, industrial unrest is also intensifying.
On Friday, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria accused Dangote of anti-labour practices after the termination of hundreds of Nigerian employees.
Union leaders vowed to resist what they described as “an unjust and insensitive corporate decision,” threatening nationwide solidarity actions if the situation is not resolved.
With the refinery considered vital to Nigeria’s energy security, stakeholders warn that the twin crises—the suspension of naira sales and the labour dispute—could undermine the government’s efforts to stabilise the fuel market under its reform agenda.