Niger Republic has reached out to Nigeria for assistance in addressing a severe fuel shortage, despite months of diplomatic tension.
A high-level delegation from Niger, including key members of the military junta, traveled to Abuja for talks with Nigerian government officials.
Following these discussions, Nigeria agreed to dispatch 300 trucks of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to Niger. A senior Nigerian official indicated that this decision was made strategically, with the hope of leveraging the arrangement in ongoing negotiations with Niger.
The Nigerien delegation explained that the country had been dependent on a Chinese refinery for its fuel supply, but due to issues with the supplier, the refinery was shut down, leaving Niger with few alternatives.
With the fuel crisis reaching critical levels, Niger turned to Nigeria for assistance, although the details of the agreement remain confidential.
The official clarified that the deal was not to be made public, as it is intended to serve as a negotiation tool aimed at encouraging Niger to rejoin the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The fuel shortage, coupled with Niger’s limited resources for food imports, may ultimately pressure the country to rejoin the regional bloc.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) was not directly involved in the negotiations, as the state-run oil company now operates as a limited liability entity. Sources at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, however, declined to comment due to diplomatic concerns.
In some areas of Niger, fuel prices soared to N8,000 per litre last week, with prices varying depending on proximity to Nigeria.
Mallam Abubakar Usman, a transborder Nigerian businessman, noted that the fuel crisis had worsened due to the deteriorating relations between Niger and Nigeria.
The root of the crisis stems from a dispute between Niger’s military junta and Chinese oil companies.
In March 2024, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) provided Niger with a $400 million advance, using future crude deliveries as collateral. When the junta struggled to repay the debt, it escalated tensions by imposing an $80 billion tax on Soraz, the refinery operator, despite Soraz’s existing $250 billion debt to the state-owned Sonidep.
This led to the expulsion of Chinese oil executives and the seizure of Soraz’s bank accounts, which caused the collapse of Niger’s petroleum sector and triggered the ongoing fuel shortage.
Despite these tensions, Nigeria has stepped in to help alleviate the crisis. A security analyst confirmed that Nigeria has been supplying fuel to Niger, though the Nigerien government has refrained from acknowledging this, instead claiming that the fuel availability is the result of their own internal efforts.
Nigerian oil marketers, however, confirmed the 300-truck deal, amounting to 13.5 million litres of petrol. They assured that Nigeria has the capacity to meet both domestic and regional fuel needs, particularly with the increased capacity of its refineries.
Hamid Fashola, National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, emphasized that Nigeria has sufficient resources to assist Niger without jeopardizing its own fuel supply.
This situation highlights the complex interplay of humanitarian aid and political strategy in the fuel supply dynamics between Niger and Nigeria.
