Nigeria may face acute fuel shortages within the next 48 hours if urgent steps are not taken to address mounting supply challenges, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) has warned.
The committee raised the alarm on Thursday, cautioning that the country is on the brink of a fresh fuel crisis that could trigger nationwide scarcity, long queues at filling stations, and a spike in pump prices.
Speaking at a press briefing at the National Assembly in Abuja, the committee chairman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, described the situation as a looming threat capable of worsening the economic hardship faced by Nigerians in a matter of days.
He cautioned that unless critical bottlenecks in the supply chain are resolved within the next 48 hours, the country risks experiencing widespread disruption in fuel distribution.
According to him, findings from the committee’s oversight activities indicate that the anticipated price increase is not driven by deliberate government policy but by systemic inefficiencies in the fuel supply chain. At the heart of the looming shortage is the inadequate supply of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery, a key facility considered central to Nigeria’s drive for energy self-sufficiency and stable fuel pricing.
Ugochinyere disclosed that although the refinery is allocated about 21 cargoes of crude oil and requires at least 15 cargoes to operate optimally, it is currently receiving only five.
“This shortfall is already undermining refining capacity and poses a direct risk to fuel availability across the country,” he said.
The committee further expressed concern over the quality of crude supplied to domestic refineries, noting that substandard grades are being delivered to facilities designed for higher-quality inputs.
It stressed the need to prioritise high-grade crude from the Niger Delta to improve refining efficiency.
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