Nigerian lawmakers have warned of an imminent nationwide fuel crisis within 48 hours due to critical crude supply shortages at the Dangote Refinery and exploitative pricing by international middlemen.
The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) issued a dire 48-hour ultimatum on Thursday, March 19, 2026, warning that Nigeria faces “acute fuel shortages” and a massive price spike unless systemic supply bottlenecks are immediately resolved. Committee Chairman Ikenga Ugochinyere revealed that the Dangote Refinery is receiving only five crude oil cargoes despite an allocation of 21, asserting that “this shortfall is already undermining refining capacity and poses a direct risk to fuel availability across the country.”
The committee further alleged that international middlemen in London and Dubai are exploiting the domestic market by adding an $18-per-barrel premium to Nigerian crude, which Ugochinyere described as an “exploitative and unsustainable” arrangement that inflates costs for local consumers. Amidst the global energy volatility triggered by the U.S.-Israel-Israel war with Iran, the lawmakers called for an urgent executive directive from President Bola Tinubu to enforce domestic crude supply obligations and avert a deepening cost-of-living crisis.
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