BREAKING: Dangote Refinery halts petrol sales in Naira as price surge looms

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has suspended the sale of petrol in naira, a development unsettling marketers and fuelling fresh worries about pump prices and pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

In a notice sent to customers at 6:42 pm on Friday, the refinery stated that the directive would take effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025. The company attributed the decision to the depletion of its crude-for-naira allocation.

The letter, 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 transactions to seek refunds.

Part of the notice 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.”*

The announcement comes amid a fierce standoff between the refinery and labour unions over allegations that more than 800 Nigerian workers were laid off, a move unions have condemned and asked the government to wade into.

This is not the first time Dangote Refinery has halted local currency transactions. Back in March 2025, the company briefly stopped selling refined products in naira, citing inadequate crude-for-naira allocations to satisfy domestic demand. That action raised alarm over a possible dollarisation of fuel sales in Nigeria, pushing pump prices close to N1,000 per litre.