Nigerian petrol station owners will stop using Dangote Refinery because it is too expensive.

Marketers of Nigerian petroleum products have said they will stop selling Dangote Refinery’s petrol and switch to cheaper foreign fuel.

Chinedu Ukadike, the spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), told XANDERTECH this on Friday.

This is because the cost of landing imported fuel has gone down to N839.97 per litre, which is N37 less than the price of N877 per litre at the Dangote Refinery.

Ukadike said that petroleum marketers would choose imported fuel so that Nigerians could have cheaper petrol.

He said that the difference in prices was because the country’s downstream sector had been opened up and deregulated.

“It is because the sector has been opened up, which has started a price war.” Marketers can now choose to buy from either Dangote Refinery for N877 per litre or MEMAN for N839. The question is why would a local refinery (Dangote) sell petrol for more than imported petrol?
“As marketers of petroleum products, Nigerians want to buy petrol that is less expensive.” He told XANDERTECH, “When we have cheaper fuel, it sells faster.”

XANDERTECH reporters found out that the prices of Emedab, Gulf Treasure, Ardova, and Bono at the depot were N875 per litre, while the price of Dangote Refinery stayed at N877.

As of Friday night, petrol was selling for between N950 and N965 per litre at MRS, Ranoil, Total, and Emedab stores in Abuja.

According to XANDERTEC, the present pricing war amongst operators in the sector could cause the retail price to go down in the next few days.

Recent data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) shows that Nigerians used 613.6 million litres of gasoline between 2024 and October 10, 2025.

Marketers had complained before that Dangote Refinery wasn’t giving them petrol even though they had paid billions to the plant, which can make 650,000 barrels of oil each day.

Another report said that Dangote Refinery has been having trouble getting supplies, which has led to a lack of petrol across the country.