The Federal Government has approved fresh fuel import permits for the third quarter of 2026, dealing another setback to Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s legal challenge against continued imports even as the refinery only partially slashed its petrol price despite a drastic drop in crude oil prices, a move that has drawn widespread criticism from Nigerians.
The approvals, issued through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), cover the July-to-September supply window and were granted to six major downstream operators: AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil.
Most of the companies also secured approvals to import diesel, with Nipco being the only exception. Under the new allocations, AA Rano and Matrix Energy received permits for 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol each, while Pinnacle Oil secured 150,000 metric tonnes and AYM Shafa 120,000 metric tonnes. Industry sources indicated that total petrol import volumes for the quarter could exceed 800,000 metric tonnes, surpassing the second-quarter allocation of about 720,000 metric tonnes.
The fresh approvals came barely weeks after Dangote Petroleum Refinery returned to court to challenge import licences issued to marketers and NNPC Ltd, arguing that such approvals undermine local refining and should only be granted when domestic production is insufficient to meet national demand.
In a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, Dangote contends that under Section 317(9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the NMDPRA may only issue import licences where there is a demonstrable product shortfall, a condition it says does not currently exist, as the refinery supplies over 87 per cent of Nigeria’s daily petrol consumption.
The company also obtained a court order freezing the status of import licences pending the hearing of the main suit.
However, NNPC and other marketers have accused Dangote of attempting to monopolise Nigeria’s fuel market, arguing that granting its request would expose the country to “grave risks of petroleum shortages, supply disruptions, price instability, and national energy crises”.
The NMDPRA justified the fresh import approvals on grounds of energy security, citing declining fuel stock levels and reduced gasoline production at the Dangote Refinery. According to NMDPRA data, petrol stock sufficiency declined to 16 days in May, while diesel inventory cover stood at 31 days during the same period.
The reduced output at the Lekki-based facility was linked to maintenance activities on the Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC), a critical gasoline-producing unit. Despite this, the refinery produced about 44.7 million litres of petrol daily in May and supplied about 41.5 million litres to the domestic market.
The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) has pushed back against the lawsuit, stating that the licences are “not mere administrative approvals but legal instruments that underpin Nigeria’s fuel supply chain”.
The association warned that retroactively voiding them would introduce uncertainty into the downstream sector and disrupt the broader supply chain, adding that Nigeria’s fuel market is structured as a competitive, multi-participant system, not a monopoly.
Petroleum economist Dr Kaase Gbako noted that the law itself anticipates the risks of a dominant supplier operating without competitive constraint, with Section 205 subsection two of the PIA empowering NMDPRA to regulate prices charged by a dominant supplier. “Competitive pricing may be effected by allowing alternative petroleum product supply, which in this case and circumstance would be imports,” he said.
In a related development, Dangote Refinery announced a price reduction on June 16, slashing its ex-gantry price by N75 per litre from N1,250 to N1,175, a cut of just about six per cent.
The refinery attributed the move to easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following the de-escalation of the Strait of Hormuz crisis, which had driven global crude prices higher.
But Nigerians have voiced strong disappointment, arguing that the reduction is woefully inadequate given that Brent crude has plunged by over 40 per cent from its wartime peak above $120 per barrel to below $80, with prices now trading at levels not seen since before the Iran conflict began.
Many have taken to social media and news platforms to question why the refinery, which sources its crude locally, has not passed on more of the massive savings to consumers amid a historic collapse in global oil prices.
Compounding the public frustration, many filling stations in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun and Oyo states have refused to adjust pump prices downward despite the Dangote price cut, with marketers selling petrol between N1,280 and N1,380 per litre, citing the need to clear old stock purchased at higher rates.
This has left motorists paying well above what the new gantry price should dictate, with MRS Oil selling at N1,317 and NNPC adjusting to N1,334 per litre in Abuja, while consumers had hoped for more immediate relief.
The refinery has since announced a further N50 reduction to N1,125 per litre , yet questions persist over why pump prices remain stubbornly high despite the dramatic collapse in crude prices and the easing of geopolitical tensions that had originally driven costs higher.
This is not Dangote’s first legal confrontation over import licensing. In 2024, the refinery had sued the NMDPRA and several marketers over similar grievances but later withdrew that action without explanation, leaving the refinery legally exposed.
That history likely informed the decision to now channel the 2026 lawsuit through the Attorney General, potentially sidestepping earlier procedural complication.
Notably, the NMDPRA did not issue a single import licence in the first quarter of 2026 because the Dangote refinery had the capacity to meet Nigeria’s petrol demand; it was only upon intervention by President Bola Tinubu that the licences were granted for the second quarter.
As the legal battle unfolds, the core question remains whether Nigeria’s downstream sector will evolve into a truly competitive market or become a private monopoly. For now, the Federal Government has made clear its determination to maintain a multi-supplier framework, even as Africa’s largest refinery fights to protect its commercial turf while facing growing public scrutiny over its pricing decisions.
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