The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has declared that compelling the Dangote Refinery to import crude or buy locally in dollars clearly undermined the promise of reduced fuel prices for Nigerians.
The umbrella body of workers in Nigeria, noted that if the federal government is truly desirous of lowering prices of petroleum products and support local refining, it has to sell crude oil to Dangote in Naira.
The Congress particularly said that sourcing crude oil locally in local currency would significantly reduce operational costs and lead to a sustainable drop in fuel prices.
The NLC therefore tasked the Federal Government to prioritise the sale of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery in Naira value.
The Lagos State chapter of the NLC led by its Chairperson, Comrade Funmi Sesi, who stated these on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, during a tour of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Fertiliser Ltd, noted that Nigeria has crude oil in abundance, thus does not see the reason why Dangote refinery is still importing crude or paying in hard currency for locally produced crude.
Sesi commended Dangote Limited for creating a transformative national asset that helps bridge Nigeria’s fuel supply gap, creating jobs, and boosting industrial capacity. In the words of Sesi; “The scale and strategic importance of Dangote Group’s investments are already delivering measurable benefits to Nigerians.
“Today, we have seen the refinery, the fertiliser plant, and other investments in this axis. The size and impact are enormous and impressive. The projects as clear efforts to improve essential product availability, create jobs, and advance Nigeria’s industrialisation,” she said.
The Lgos State chapter of the NLC also said that the entry of Dangote into refinery has helped to stabilised prices, adding that Dangote’s operations had significantly lowered the prices of PMS and other refined product which significantly demonstrated private sector leadership in the industry.
Sesi further said; “With a 650,000-barrel daily capacity, this refinery can serve Nigeria and West Africa. We also saw large vessels exporting fertilisers to other countries”.
The NLC also commended Aliko Dangote for building a fully operational, world-class refinery that meets domestic and regional refined petroleum needs and also applauded the production of Euro-5-compliant fuel with reduced sulphur content that aligns with global environmental standards as well as enhanced Nigeria’s market reputation.
The NLC Chairperson further said; “This is the pride we want — a Nigerian company producing at global standards, changing the narrative, and boosting our global standing”. Speaking in turn, Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Oil and Gas of Dangote Industries, said the refinery was addressing Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined products by setting a foundation for a sustainable, competitive refining industry that would benefit the national economy.
Edwin said that there are plans to deploy 4,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks to distribute refined petroleum products nationwide, emphasising that the CNG trucks would ensure domestic refining benefits and lower fuel prices are fully passed to Nigerian consumers.
He explained that the aim was to improve distribution efficiency and not to displace existing operators.
