The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has announced that its members would effect a petrol price hike nationwide as Dangote Refinery suspended sales of petrol in Naira.
The National President of IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, who disclosed this on Saturday, confirmed that the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery, on Friday, sent an email to its customers, including marketers, informing them of the suspension of petrol sales in Naira with effect from Sunday, 28th September 2025. The company had earlier cited exhaustion of its crude-for-Naira allocation.
“Yes, we received the email from Dangote Refinery on the suspension of Premium Motor Spirit sales in Naira on Friday evening. The implication is that our members will announce a fuel price increase. It may take effect from Monday if the Federal Government does not intervene,” Maigandi said.
According to him, the implication is that fuel pump prices would go up from their current N865 and N910 per litre in Lagos and Abuja.
He said the new price template would be effective from Monday, 29th September, if the Federal Government does not address the Naira-for-crude-oil allocation with Dangote Refinery.
The Naira-for-crude agreement between Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian government came into effect on October 1, 2024.
The Federal Government, in April 2025, declared that the initiative, which is intended to bring down the cost of production for the refinery and, by extension, impact the price of petrol, would continue to be considered.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has threatened to picket the Dangote refinery over the alleged sacking of 800 workers who joined the association.
The association alleged that over 2,000 Indian nationals were recruited by the company to take over the jobs of those sacked by Dangote on Thursday.
However, the Dangote refinery said it dismissed a few of its workers over repeated cases of sabotage, even as unions accused the company of retaliating against staff who joined organised labour.
An internal memo dated 25 September, signed by the refinery’s Human Asset Management head, directed affected employees to return company property, obtain clearance and await computation of their benefits. The memo described the decision as part of a “total reorganisation” following reported cases of sabotage in different units.
The move came a day after many Nigerian staff formally joined the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). The union said more than 1,000 employees had signed membership forms, which were verified by management.
PENGASSAN condemned the dismissals as an attempt to weaken labour representation. “This action is not just sabotage; it is a clear effort to undermine workers’ constitutional rights to freedom of association,” the union said. It also alleged that management had sought the arrest of its caretaker committee chairman for union involvement.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery dismissed a number of Nigerian workers, citing sabotage within its facility, as unions accuse the company of retaliating against staff who joined organised labour.
An internal memo dated 25 September, signed by the refinery’s Human Asset Management head, directed affected employees to return company property, obtain clearance and await computation of their benefits. The memo described the decision as part of a “total reorganisation” following reported cases of sabotage in different units.
The letter, titled, ‘Reorganisation’ and addressed to all staff of the refinery on Thursday partly read, “In view of the many recent cases of reported sabotage in different units of the petroleum refinery leading to major safety concerns, the management is constrained to carry out a total reorganisation of the plant.
“As a consequence of this development, we wish to inform you that your services are no longer required, with effect from the eve of Thursday, the 25th of September, 2025
In a statement on 26 September, it said over 3,000 Nigerians remain in active employment and that only “a very small number of staff were affected.” It added that the changes were unrelated to union activities and stressed its commitment to international labour standards, including freedom of association.
The move came a day after many Nigerian staff formally joined the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). The union said more than 1,000 employees had signed membership forms, which were verified by management.
PENGASSAN condemned the dismissals as an attempt to weaken labour representation. “This action is not just sabotage; it is a clear effort to undermine workers’ constitutional rights to freedom of association,” the union said. It also alleged that management had sought the arrest of its caretaker committee chairman for union involvement.
However, leaders of PENGASSAN believe that the workers were dismissed for joining the union.
The General Secretary of the group, Lumumba Okugbawa, alleged that 800 workers were sacked for becoming members of PENGASSAN.
“When the witch cries in the night and the baby dies in the morning, what do you expect?
“In the letter, they didn’t say it was because they joined the union. But as of Thursday, the workers actually completed the process of unionisation as directed by the Federal Government.
“So, over 800 agreed to join the union. The management went to do headcounts, and they found out that these guys voluntarily joined; the next thing we saw was the (sack) letter, firing all Nigerian staff.
