Nigeria imported 72.64 percent of its petrol consumption in the last nine months, a troubling reality that raises fresh concerns about Nigeria’s failure to revive its local refineries.
Development Diaries reports that according to new data, Nigeria’s reliance on petrol imports has deepened despite the commissioning of the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery.
A recent report by The Guardian reveals that imported petrol accounted for 72.64 per cent of total national consumption in the last nine months.
According to the report, despite commissioning the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery, the country still consumed 12.5 billion litres of petrol between October 2024 and July 2025, out of which 9.08 billion litres were imported and only 3.5 billion litres came from local supply.
This heavy reliance on imports persists even as the country promotes its vision of becoming Africa’s refining hub, a goal increasingly threatened by emerging refinery projects across the continent.
It also exposes the country’s deep-rooted failure to actualise energy independence despite its vast crude oil reserves.
For decades, successive administrations have promised to fix Nigeria’s state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna, without tangible results.
The Port Harcourt refinery is a lasting reminder of failed promises and mismanaged projects. Despite several government assurances and billions of naira spent on turnaround maintenance over the years, the refinery remains largely non-functional.
Billions of naira have been sunk into endless turnaround maintenance contracts, yet not one of these facilities currently operates at meaningful capacity.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had pledged that at least one refinery would come onstream by late 2023, but operational efficiency remains elusive.
Dangote Refinery, though privately owned, has faced its own hurdles, including crude supply shortages and operational disruptions, exposing the systemic gaps in Nigeria’s energy policy and infrastructure.
The inability to secure local crude supply, forcing Dangote to import up to 20 percent of its feedstock from the United States, further reflects the disconnect between production and refining coordination in the country.
Now, let’s shift focus to the continent.
Across Africa, other nations are taking deliberate steps to bridge their refining deficits. Countries like Ethiopia, Senegal, Angola, and Ghana are building or revamping refineries to reduce their reliance on imported fuel, a move that could soon rival Nigeria’s dominance in the regional energy market.
According to the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA), the continent still needs at least six refineries the size of Dangote’s to meet its growing demand, while OPEC estimates that Africa faces a $100 billion investment gap in refining over the next 25 years.
Yet, as others move forward, Nigeria appears trapped in cycles of unfulfilled promises and poor execution, leaving its citizens vulnerable to price shocks, subsidy distortions, and forex instability driven by petrol imports.
Citizens must demand transparency and measurable progress from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the NNPCL, and regulatory bodies such as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to ensure that local refining moves from rhetoric to reality
Also, the National Assembly must insist on performance audits of all refinery rehabilitation projects and enforce timelines for completion.
