Joseph Bakare
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has confirmed new petrol import figure in its foreign trade statistics for Q2 2026.
The NBS said petrol was Nigeria’s largest imported commodity during the quarter, accounting for 6.6 per cent of total imports valued at N14.42 trillion.
The report showed that the figure increased quarter-on-quarter from N87.4 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.
Other major imports during the period included crude oil, durum wheat, used vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines, and motorcycles and cycles fitted with auxiliary motors, “with petrol engines above 50cc but below 250cc, in completely knocked-down (CKD) form”.
The sharp increase in petrol imports comes despite the expansion of domestic refining capacity, particularly the Dangote refinery, which has been pushing to increase its share of the domestic petrol market.
On August 31, the Dangote refinery said it may restrict fuel supplies to major oil marketers over the continued importation of petrol into Nigeria.
But despite the sharp quarterly increase, petrol imports remained significantly lower than the level recorded a year earlier.
Petrol import bill stood at N2.83 trillion in Q2 2025, representing a 66.4 percent decline year-on-year.