The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has switched back to selling petrol in naira to avert a potential fuel shortage and curb rising pump prices, according to a senior management official.
The decision follows a brief spell of dollar-denominated pricing that sparked widespread anxiety across the downstream petroleum sector and prompted emergency intervention by the Federal Government. Independent marketers had suspended loading at the plant, citing an inability to secure the necessary foreign exchange.
Explaining the shift, the official revealed that the move was driven by market manipulation among fuel importers. “We took a decision in the interest of the country to start selling Premium Motor Spirit in naira, since we saw that the importers were holding back their goods, looking for a price rise,” the source said.
According to a commercial department notice issued on Wednesday, the refinery has set the gantry price of petrol at ₦1,215 per litre, with the coastal price fixed at ₦1,602,495 per metric tonne.
The refinery had previously defended its dollar-pricing strategy, maintaining that a shortage of crude under the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude scheme forced it to purchase crude from international markets in foreign currency. The source clarified that returning to naira sales does not mean these crude supply issues have been resolved.
Discussions between the Dangote Group and the Federal Government remain ongoing. “We are still in talks with the government, but I hope that they will be sincere,” the official noted, while criticising certain officials who, he claimed, preferred exporting crude oil to foreign traders and importing refined products back into the country.