By Kingston Magare 19.3.2026
Nigerians have been warned of an imminent fuel scarcity if urgent measures are not taken to reduce the recent price hikes due to the Middle East crisis and a shortfall of crude oil supply to the Dangote Refinery.
Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) chairman, Ikenga Ugochinyere sounded the alarm during a chat with news reporters in Abuja on Thursday.
Hon. Ugochinyere, said there’s a need remedy the situation before the week runs out otherwise there will shortages, distribution disruptions, and escalating petrol prices.
According to him the Dangote Refinery, is having five cargos of crude oil daily, instead of the 21 it needs to produce to full capacity.
“This shortfall is already undermining refining capacity and poses a direct risk to fuel availability across the country,” he said.
“Crude oil produced in Nigeria is being sold to our refineries through middlemen based in London and Dubai, who add no value but collect huge fees.
“For every barrel priced at $100, refineries pay $118, with the additional $18 going to intermediaries.”
Ugochinyere said Presidential Technical Committee overseeing the crude-for-naira initiative must rush to address the bottlenecks.
He called on Tinubu to issue a firm executive directive to ensure compliance by all stakeholders and safeguard the country’s domestic energy supply chain.