Nigeria’s petrol import bill fell to N87.40 billion in Q1 2026, from N2.27 trillion in Q1 2025, representing a 96.15% year-on-year decline, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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On a quarter-on-quarter basis, imports of motor spirit dropped by 97.53% from N3.54 trillion in Q4 2025.
This means Nigeria spent N2.18 trillion less on petrol imports compared with Q1 2025 and N3.45 trillion less compared with the preceding quarter.
The decline was largely driven by increased reliance on locally refined petroleum products, particularly from the Dangote Refinery, which has reshaped Nigeria’s energy trade balance.
The decline is significant because motor spirit had remained one of Nigeria’s biggest import items. In Q4 2025, the NBS listed motor spirit ordinary as the country’s top imported product, with a value of N3.54 trillion, accounting for 20.52% of total imports.
What the data shows
Nairametrics observed that petrol accounted for only 0.64% of Nigeria’s total imports in Q1 2026, compared with 13.64% in Q1 2025 and 20.52% in Q4 2025.
- Total imports fell to N13.62 trillion in Q1 2026 from N16.64 trillion in Q1 2025, a decline of 18.17%. Compared with N17.25 trillion in Q4 2025, total imports fell by 21.05%.
- However, the fall in petrol imports was much steeper than the decline in the overall import bill, showing that the PMS component drove a major structural shift in Nigeria’s import basket.
Nairametrics further observed that the collapse in petrol imports was so pronounced that PMS dropped out of Nigeria’s top 10 most imported products in Q1 2026.
- Within processed fuels and lubricants, petrol’s share fell to 14.43% in Q1 2026 from 46.25% in Q1 2025 and 91.36% in Q4 2025.
Its share of total fuels and lubricants also dropped to 3.48% in Q1 2026, compared with 37.24% in Q1 2025 and 80.92% in Q4 2025.
Fuel imports shift away from PMS
Total fuels and lubricants imports stood at N2.51 trillion in Q1 2026, down 58.80% from N6.10 trillion in Q1 2025 and 42.56% from N4.37 trillion in Q4 2025.
- Processed fuels and lubricants recorded the sharpest contraction, falling to N605.53 billion in Q1 2026 from N4.91 trillion in Q1 2025. This represents an 87.67% year-on-year decline. Compared with N3.88 trillion in Q4 2025, processed fuel imports dropped by 84.37%.
- In contrast, primary fuels and lubricants rose to N1.91 trillion in Q1 2026, up 60.48% from N1.19 trillion in Q1 2025 and 281.67% from N499.80 billion in Q4 2025.
Other processed fuel imports stood at N518.13 billion in Q1 2026, down 80.37% from N2.64 trillion in Q1 2025, but up 54.73% from N334.85 billion in Q4 2025.
What you should know
The figures show that Nigeria’s fuel import structure changed sharply in Q1 2026, with PMS losing its dominance while primary fuels became the larger component of the fuel import bill. Still, fuels and lubricants accounted for 18.45% of total imports, meaning energy products remained a major source of pressure on Nigeria’s external trade position.
- Nairametrics earlier reported that Nigeria’s petrol imports dropped significantly in the first quarter of 2026 as local refinery supply climbed to 3.18 billion litres.
- This was according to official data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
- The data showed that petrol imports fell to 965.52 million litres in Q1 2026 from an estimated 2.43 billion litres in the corresponding period of 2025, representing a 60.2% year-on-year decline.
At the same time, local refinery supply rose from 1.996 billion litres in Q1 2025 to 3.179 billion litres in Q1 2026, an increase of 59.2%.
The figures indicate that domestic refineries accounted for about 76.7% of the total petrol supply in Q1 2026, up from 45.2% in Q1 2025.
Nairametrics also reported that Nigeria’s domestic fuel supply received a major boost in January 2026 as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery delivered an average of 40.1 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) per day.
The figure was an increase of about 8 million litres per day compared to the 32 million litres recorded in December 2025, signalling a steady ramp-up in local refining capacity.
