Dangote Refinery has suspended the sale of petroleum products in Naira due to the Federal Government’s failure to renew its crude-for-Naira agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
In a statement released yesterday, the refinery explained that the temporary halt in Naira sales was necessary to prevent a mismatch between revenue from sales and the cost of crude oil purchases, which are currently denominated in U.S. dollars.
The company noted that its Naira sales had already exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude received. Consequently, it had to adjust its sales currency to align with its crude procurement obligations.
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Addressing online reports that the refinery had stopped loading due to a ticketing fraud incident, the company dismissed such claims as false and reaffirmed that its systems remained secure and unaffected by fraud.
Dangote Refinery assured its commitment to efficiently serving the Nigerian market and stated that sales in Naira would resume as soon as it received an allocation of Naira-priced crude from NNPCL. The company also expressed appreciation for public understanding and cooperation during this period.
In a bid to salvage the crude-for-Naira arrangement, Dangote Group President, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, met with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, in Abuja on Tuesday. However, the meeting did not yield a resolution.
Although the government had earlier denied halting the crude-for-Naira deal, Dangote Refinery’s position now confirms that the arrangement has been discontinued.
This development is expected to have significant economic consequences, likely driving up fuel prices and intensifying the demand for U.S. dollars in the foreign exchange market. It could further contribute to the dollarisation of the Nigerian economy, a trend the federal government had previously pledged to curb.
