For decades, Nigeria imported virtually all its fuel. The country’s state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna sat largely idle, and fuel traders were the backbone of national supply. That arrangement is now being challenged in the courts, and how every Nigerian buys petrol could be affected by the outcome.
Three major fuel trading companies—Matrix Energy, AA Rano, and AYM Shafa—have filed a lawsuit in Abuja against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), demanding that their import licences should continue to be renewed. They argue that restricting imports gives one supplier too much power and, should that supplier ever go offline, everyday Nigerians will suffer.
The supplier they are not naming directly is Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the largest private refinery in Africa, built by Aliko Dangote, Nigeria’s richest man. Dangote has filed his own suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking the cancellation of fuel import licences altogether. His argument is that imports should only be allowed when local production falls short of national demand, as stated in the Petroleum Industry Act. A key hearing is scheduled for October 7.
