Following the most recent cut in the price of premium motor spirit by the refinery, which produces 650,000 barrels per day, some filling stations and marketers of petroleum products, partners of Dangote Refinery’s petrol, have temporarily closed for the previous five days.
According to The Intercept, since Dangote Refinery announced its ex-depot gasoline price cut to N835 per litre on Tuesday, April 16, 2025, MRS filling stations in Abuja, along Kubwa Motorway, and others have not distributed petrol for the last five days.
Dangote Refinery lowers fuel prices once more.
The filling station is struggling with the loss resulting from Dangote’s most recent price hike, an MRS Filling official told The Intercept, requesting anonymity since he is not permitted to talk.
“It is because of Dangote’s latest price drop. The filling station had old stock, which it couldn’t sell at a loss.
“This is the reason we have shut down since Tuesday. We may reopen on Tuesday,” he told The Intercept.
Meanwhile, another official at the filling station said the retail outlet is billed to reopen on Tuesday, noting that it has been undergoing minor maintenance.
“We have been on maintenance for the past few days, which is the reason the station was shut. We will reopen on Tuesday,” he told The Intercept.
According to him, the filling station would commence dispensing at the new price of N910 per litre from Tuesday.
According to The Intercept, as of Monday, April 21, 2025, additional Dangote Refinery partners, including AP, Ardova, and Optima, are distributing petroleum in various districts of Abuja for between N910 and N920 per litre.
Billy Gillis-Harry, the National President of the Petroleum Merchants Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, responded to the news in an interview with The Intercept, stating that the recent decrease in fuel prices had an impact on the purchasing capacity of petrol marketers and merchants.
He asserts that indiscriminate price adjustments, whether upward or downward, are detrimental to the Nigerian economy and the downstream petroleum industry.
“At every point, if prices of petrol are indiscriminately changed without any clearly defined economic reason, the chances that it will impact the buying power of retailers and marketers are there.
“It is not good for business, the economy, and Nigerians.
“Prices of petrol change for reasons that are understandable with proper information to retailers,” he said.
Gillis-Harry has previously demanded a six-month gasoline price stability strategy to reduce volatility, according to The Intercept.
Following Dangote’s most recent gasoline price cut, Chinedu Ukadike, the spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, had previously implied that marketers with outdated fuel inventories would suffer billions of dollars in losses.
The $20 billion refinery lowered fuel prices nationally for the second time last week. This suggests a total N45 per litre decline in ex-depot prices.
Dangote Refinery had, on 10 April, reduced its gantry price of petrol to N865 per litre. The ex-depot price of petrol, however, has further decreased to N835 per litre.
Gillis-Harry has previously demanded a six-month gasoline price stability strategy to reduce volatility, according to The Intercept.
