Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, has attributed Nigeria’s elevated petrol prices largely to the continued smuggling of the commodity into neighbouring countries, where it sells at a premium.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Arise Television on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, Dangote said the recent adjustment by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which lifted its gantry price from N1,265 to N1,350 per litre effective September 12, reflected higher international crude and petroleum product prices.
Dangote argued that petrol pricing in Nigeria should be assessed relative to rates in nearby markets, where the commodity remains 30 per cent to 50 per cent more expensive. That differential, he said, creates an incentive for traders to move petrol across borders for immediate returns.
He stated:
- “Those neighbouring countries are about 30% to 50% more expensive than in Nigeria. So it’s not actually like-for-like. People can now go and ask, what is the price, even now, at N1,350, the price in Niger is 20%, 25% more than in Nigeria.” - “So what business are you going to do that will make you have an instant 25% return? So it means that you will take the risk to go and take it across the border, you pretend that you are taking it to Sokoto, and you go and just take it to Ilela and you sell.”
Dangote also discussed the Middle East crisis, including the US-Iran war, warning that the energy challenge could shift from petroleum product pricing to product availability.
He said smugglers were exploiting price differences between Nigeria and neighbouring markets despite the removal of the petrol subsidy, which had previously made cross-border diversion particularly lucrative.
On domestic refining, Dangote explained that locally refined products remain exposed to international crude and petroleum product prices. He said the refinery buys crude at prevailing international market prices and sometimes pays significant premiums, making it difficult to sell refined products below sustainable market levels.
