Pat Stevens/
Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced it will suspend the sale of petrol in Naira beginning tomorrow, September 28, citing a lack of crude oil allocations priced in the local currency.
In a message to customers, the Group Commercial Operations department said the refinery had exhausted all Naira-denominated crude supplies and could no longer sustain domestic sales in the currency.
“We cannot sustain PMS sales in Naira going forward,” the memo stated, adding that customers who had ongoing Naira transactions should request refunds.
The refinery assured that further guidance would be issued once the issue is resolved and sales in Naira can resume.
The announcement comes amid a deepening labour crisis, with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) ordering an immediate shutdown of gas and crude oil supply to the refinery.
In a letter dated September 26 and signed by General Secretary, Lumumba Ighotemu Okugbawa, the union accused management of unlawfully disengaging unionised Nigerian workers and responding with “misinformation and propaganda” rather than meaningful dialogue.
The directive instructed all PENGASSAN branch chairmen, especially in the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), to ensure gas supply to the refinery is cut off, shut all crude supply valves, and halt vessel-loading operations.
The union described the action as necessary to defend workers’ constitutional right to unionise, declaring: “Injury to one, Injury to all.”
According to reports, PENGASSAN’s action targets supply points from TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, and NGIC, in solidarity with over 800 Nigerian workers said to have been laid off by the refinery.
Labour leaders allege that local employees have been sidelined while more than 2,000 Indian workers have been brought in.
Dangote Refinery, however, has defended the dismissals, insisting they involved “a small number” of workers as part of efforts to protect the multibillion-dollar facility from acts of sabotage.
The company maintained that more than 3,000 Nigerians are still employed and reiterated its commitment to freedom of association.
The suspension of Naira-denominated sales and PENGASSAN’s industrial action threaten to further unsettle the country’s fuel supply chain.
Analysts warn that disruptions at Africa’s largest refinery could ripple through Nigeria’s downstream market, straining energy security and putting pressure on both government and industry stakeholders to intervene.
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