Petrol importers have slashed prices below the rates offered by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, intensifying market competition.

This development follows a recent appeal by Dangote Group President, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, urging the Federal Government to halt fuel importation.

Investigations revealed that several filling stations are now retailing petrol for less than N860 per litre, compared to the N865–N875 range offered by Dangote’s distributors such as MRS and Heyden in Lagos and Ogun States.

At SGR filling station in Ogun State, petrol was sold at N847 per litre on Tuesday.

Marketers said that many importers have lowered their ex-depot prices below Dangote refinery’s benchmark, according to The Punch.

While the refinery’s ex-depot price stood at N820 per litre on Tuesday, some depots, including Aiteo and Menj, were selling at N815 per litre, according to data from Petroleumprice.ng.

It was gathered that importers are slashing prices to stay competitive and sustain their operations, having earlier reported losses when the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote refinery began frequent price reductions earlier in the year.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, confirmed that importers are actively reviewing their prices downward.

“Depot owners are dropping their petrol prices. Some of them are selling N815, some are selling N817, while Dangote is selling N820. NNPC is still selling at N825; it has not dropped its prices yet,” Ukadike disclosed.

Ukadike described the development as a clear benefit of market liberalisation and advised President Bola Tinubu against yielding to demands for a fuel importation ban.

“This is the beauty of the liberalisation of the market. That is why we opined that the President should not ban anybody from importing petroleum products. Nobody should be stopped from bringing in petroleum products. That is the beauty of opening up the market. Implementation and local refining will checkmate unfair pricing. As an indigenous country, you must refine to ensure that you have the best price,” Ukadike said.

Responding to concerns about the importation of toxic and substandard fuels, the IPMAN spokesman noted that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority is responsible for ensuring product quality and preventing such occurrences.

Importers now appear to be challenging Dangote by aggressively cutting petrol prices—a move the industrialist recently described as unfair competition. According to Dangote, continued fuel importation undermines local refining efforts and discourages investment in the sector and the broader economy.

To ensure the viability of domestic refining, he called on African governments to adopt protective measures similar to those implemented in the United States, Canada, and the European Union to shield local producers from what he termed unfair market practices.