The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced the suspension of petrol sales in naira, unsettling marketers and raising fresh concerns over fuel pricing and foreign exchange pressure.

In an email sent to customers at 6:42 p.m. on Friday, the refinery said the decision would take effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025, citing the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocation as the reason.

The notice, titled “Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales – Effective 28th September 2025” and signed by the Group Commercial Operations of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, also asked customers with ongoing naira-based transactions to formally request refunds.

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“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,” the statement read.

“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.”

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Dangote Refinery Reacts To Alleged Mass Sack Of Workforce

The move comes amid a raging dispute between the refinery and labour unions over the alleged mass sack of more than 800 Nigerian workers. This controversy has drawn public outrage and calls for government intervention.

This is the second time the refinery has halted local currency transactions. In March 2025, it briefly suspended sales of refined products in naira, blaming inadequate allocations under the crude-for-naira programme.

The naira appreciated massively against the United States dollar at the parallel foreign exchange market.

Abubakar Alhasan, a Bureau De Change operator in Wuse Zone, Abuja, told DAILY POST that the Naira strengthened significantly to N1,490 per dollar on Wednesday, up from N1,520 on Tuesday.

“We buy at N1480 and sell at N1490 on Wednesday due to lower FX demand,” Alhasan confirmed to newsmen.

READ ALSO:Naira Appreciates Against Dollar As External Reserves Swell

This means that the Naira gained N30 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

The last time they were exchanged at this level in the black market was in June 2024.

Meanwhile, at the official market, it dropped marginally by N1.19 to N1,488.56 per dollar on Wednesday, down from N1,487.37, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

READ ALSO:Naira Appreciates At Official Market

Analysing the trend at both markets, the difference between official and parallel markets has shrunk to 1.44.

Recall that on Tuesday, the Naira appreciated across official and parallel foreign exchange markets upon an interest rate cut by the apex bank by 50 basis points to 27 per cent.

The President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, has revealed the reasons oil unions rejected the government’s plan to sell assets.

Osifo said that the plan will be injurious to the Nigerian economy in the long run.

He made this statement on Wednesday, while responding to questions in an interview on ‘Prime Time’, a programme on Arise Television.

READ ALSO:NUPENG Accuses Dangote Of Breaching Agreement, Says Nationwide Strike Inevitable

“What informed our position in this is that as PENGASSAN and NUPENG, we represent the workforce of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

“So it’s our responsibility first to our members to ensure that their jobs are protected and to ensure that their welfare is enhanced.

“Secondly, our members live in a country called Nigeria. Nigeria must survive and strive before our members will be able to survive.

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“So we feel the move to go in this direction will not just affect the plights of our members but is injurious to Nigeria’s economy in the long run.

“The oil unions’ rejection of this plan is to protect Nigeria’s economy and the welfare of its members.

“This decision will certainly boomerang, revenue will plummet, and it will lead to a lot of other issues,” Osifo said.