Nigeria should not be importing fuel, says Aliko Dangote

CEO of Dangote Group Aliko Dangote has criticised Nigeria’s continued reliance on imported crude and refined petroleum products, noting that the country has no justification for importing the commodities if current laws were being enforced, according to Vanguard.

Dangote’s concerns were revealed during a visit by the South South Development Commission (SSDC) to the CEO’s 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote refinery, where he continued to note that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) contained an established framework that prioritised domestic crude supply over foreign competitors.

Despite this, he acknowledged that operators had continued to exploit loopholes within said law, with numerous oil companies regularly diverting Nigerian crude to trading subsidiaries abroad, located primarily in Switzerland.

According to Vanguard, this has forced Nigerian refineries to purchase from the offshore companies at premium prices of between four to five US dollars per barrel.

“The crude is available. It is not a matter of shortage. But the companies move everything to their trading arms, and we are forced to buy at a premium. Meanwhile, we do not receive any premium for our own products,” Dangote revealed.

As a result of this, Dangote continued to say that he had written a formal letter to the Federal Government, requesting it to charge royalties and taxes based on the actual price paid for crude in a bid to lower revenue losses and prevent practices that put local refiners at a disadvantage.

The CEO continued to praise the Nigerian National Petroleum Co. Ltd. (NNPCL) for continuing to be the primary domestic supplier who honoured domestic supply obligations – sending five to six cargoes of crude per month. Despite this, crude supply remains lacklustre, with the refinery needing 20 cargoes per month from January 2026 to run at optimal capacity.

Dangote complained that such current practices were “unsustainable for a country intent on genuine industrial growth,” adding: “It is shameful that while we exported one point five million tonnes of gasoline in June and July, imported products were flooding the country. That is dumping.”