A fierce battle for control of Nigeria’s fuel market is unfolding as independent marketers slash petrol prices below those offered by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. This development comes amid fresh calls by the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for the Federal Government to ban the importation of petroleum products.
Investigations revealed that several filling stations are now selling petrol below ₦860 per litre, while Dangote’s partners, including MRS and Heyden, maintain pump prices between ₦865 and ₦875 in Lagos and Ogun States. At a station named SGR in Ogun, petrol sold for ₦847 per litre on Tuesday.
According to The PUNCH, many importers have also dropped their ex-depot prices below that of the Dangote Refinery. While Dangote sells at ₦820 per litre, some depots were reportedly offering petrol at ₦815 per litre. According to Petroleumprice.ng, companies like Aiteo and Menj had matched that price point as of Tuesday.
Efforts to remain competitive are at the heart of the importers’ pricing strategies. Some marketers had previously raised concerns over losses caused by Dangote’s consistent price reductions following the operational commencement of its 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery.
Confirming this trend, the National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, said:
“Depot owners are dropping their petrol prices. Some of them are selling ₦815, some are selling ₦817, while Dangote is selling ₦820. NNPC is still selling at ₦825; it has not dropped its prices yet.”
Ukadike described the situation as a positive sign of liberalization in Nigeria’s oil market.
“This is the beauty of the liberalisation of the market. That is why we opined that the President should not ban anybody from importing petroleum products. Nobody should be stopped from bringing in petroleum products. That is the beauty of opening up the market. Implementation and local refining will checkmate unfair pricing. As an indigenous country, you must refine to ensure that you have the best price,” he added.
He also responded to claims about substandard fuel being imported into the country, noting that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority exists to address such concerns.
Meanwhile, Alhaji Dangote has condemned the ongoing trend of price undercutting by importers, calling it “unfair competition” that endangers domestic refining and discourages investment in the sector.
He urged the government to protect local producers as done in other parts of the world:
“The Nigeria First policy announced by His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, should apply to the petroleum product sector and all other sectors.”
Dangote’s appeal aims to ban the importation of petrol, diesel, and other locally produced products. He claimed that importers were flooding the Nigerian market with cheap and often toxic fuels that wouldn’t meet European or North American standards.
“And to make matters worse, we are now facing increased dumping of cheap, often toxic petroleum products, some of which are blended to substandard levels that would never be allowed in Europe or North America,” he stated.
According to him, some of these products are subsidised Russian fuels, which are severely undercutting domestic prices:
“Due to the price caps on the Russian petroleum products, discounted petroleum products produced in Russia or with discounted Russian crude find their way to Africa, severely undercutting our local production, which is based on full crude pricing.”
He added that this situation has created “an unlevel playing field in most African countries,” citing that petrol and diesel are being sold in Nigeria for just about 60 cents—cheaper than even oil-producing Saudi Arabia.
Despite Dangote’s pleas, many independent marketers have rejected the idea of banning fuel imports, insisting that an open and competitive market remains the best path toward fair pricing and consumer protection.
