Just as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)’s records showed last Friday, that Nigerians spent N21.8 trillion on petrol in 12 months, with imported petrol constituting a large chunk of it, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery (DPR), has promised to supply 1.5 billion liters of petrol to the Nigerian market in December 2025 and January 2026, to ensure uninterrupted availability in the festive months.
President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, disclosed this at the weekend, assuring that DPR will make available 50 million liters daily from today. He made this known during a visit by the South-south Development Commission (SSDC), to the Refinery and the Dangote Fertilizer Complex at the weekend.
Dangote said: “In line with our commitment to national wellbeing, and consistent with our track record of ensuring a holiday season free of fuel scarcity, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will supply 1.5 billion liters of PMS to the Nigerian market this month. This will represent 50 million liters per day. We are formally notifying the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority of this commitment.”
Meanwhile, NMDPRA data, at the weekend, reported a consistent struggle by local refiners, including Dangote Petrol, to meet up with commitment to the local market. The regulator said DPR supplied less than half of the petrol it promised for local consumption. Figures released in the NMDPRA Fact Sheet suggested a continued reliance on importation of PMS, a situation that threatens the promised energy security.
The data showed that DPR achieved daily PMS supply of 12 million liters per day, instead of the 35 million liters it committed to. The situation is compounded by the failure of the four refineries of NNPCL to produce a drop of petrol despite the propaganda and wasted resources. The data covered September 2024 to October 2025, during which only DPR supplied all PMS produced locally.
According to NMDPRA, whereas there is shortfall in local refining, PMS consumption had gone up from 47.5 million liters in October 2024 to 56.7 liters per day in October 2025, resulting in higher prices.
As commendable as Dangote’s promise to supply 50 million liters of PMS daily in December and January 2026 is, what happens in the subsequent months in 2026? It appears the much-envisaged energy security is still a mirage, despite improved local refining capacity, in addition to fresh licenses awarded to boost local refining. Going forward, all hands must be on deck to make the country energy-secure. There’s also the need for stakeholders to embrace transparency in communicating their challenges.
