Dangote Opens Up on Plans to Cut Petrol Prices Following Talks With Tinubu

In order to maintain competitiveness with importers, Aliko Dangote, the founder and president/chief executive of Dangote Group, has reiterated that his refinery will keep lowering gas prices.

Following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock on Monday, Dangote told State House media that the refinery’s continuous pricing adjustments were a part of initiatives to increase the competitiveness of Nigeria’s domestic petroleum prices.

“The cost is decreasing. We must lower prices because we must compete with imports, Dangote stated. He went on to say that despite changes in the price of crude oil throughout the world, Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals is still dedicated to upholding pricing stability.

The refinery reduced its fuel gantry price from ₦877 to ₦828 per litre on November 6, 2025, a 5.6% decrease. Its coastal price also decreased to ₦806 per litre from ₦854.

Dangote recognized that smuggling remains a major issue despite efforts to reduce fuel prices. Fortunately for us, however, there is still some smuggling. Because the prices in Nigeria are roughly 55% lower than those in our neighboring nations, there is still a significant amount of smuggling, he noted.

He went into detail regarding the difficulties caused by the large price difference, pointing out that petrol in neighboring nations costs between ₦1,500 and ₦1,600 per litre, while in Nigeria, the price is around ₦800.

“There is so much money to be made that people will continue to smuggle regardless of how you police the borders,” he continued.

Nigerians were reassured by Dangote that petroleum items, such as gasoline and diesel, will be available at fair pricing. He underlined that the refinery’s objective is to create a long-term, sustainable business rather than to rapidly recoup its $20 billion investment.

Dangote stated, “We are not here to make our $20 billion back quickly; it’s a long-term investment.”

Dangote praised President Tinubu’s vision and the efforts of the ministerial committee in charge of the Naira for Crude policy, calling it a win-win situation for Nigeria. However, he pointed out that one of the difficulties was obtaining crude oil from foreign vendors.

Because Nigerian petroleum sells for a high price, some foreign oil corporations aren’t really prepared or willing to sell for us. I think the government’s new budget would address this teething issue,” Dangote said.

Additionally, he revealed that the refinery has informed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of its capacity to provide 50 million liters of gasoline every day, greatly easing Nigeria’s protracted fuel scarcity.

Fuel lines have plagued Nigeria since 1972, but Dangote emphasized that his refinery is assisting in their eradication. He also mentioned that Nigeria is now providing fuel to the United States and Europe for the first time.

We’ll be able to offer roughly 15 to 20 million liters more than Nigeria’s needs by February. We must thus continue to export,” he stated.

Dangote announced plans for future growth, aiming to make the refinery the biggest in the world by 2028.

“We will defeat India’s Reliance. Our daily output will be 1.4 million barrels, compared to Reliance’s 1.25 million. We have already signed the necessary agreements, and we will begin piling for the expansion by January. It will be delivered on time,” he added.