Nigeria spent N952.15bn on imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the second quarter of 2026, despite rising domestic refining capacity and an intensifying dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and fuel importers over the continued importation of petrol, The PUNCH reports.
An analysis of the National Bureau of Statistics’ Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics for Q2 2026, published on Monday, showed that petrol imports surged nearly 11-fold from the N87.40bn recorded in the first quarter.
The increase translated to an additional N864.75bn in PMS import spending, representing a 989.4 per cent rise between Q1 and Q2.
In other words, Nigeria spent about 10.9 times more on imported petrol between April and June than it did between January and March.
According to the NBS, “Motor Spirit Ordinary” was the country’s largest imported commodity in Q2, ranking ahead of crude petroleum, durum wheat, used diesel or semi-diesel vehicles, and motorcycles.
The NBS stated that the quarter’s leading imports included “Motor Spirit Ordinary, petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (crude), durum wheat, used vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines and Motorcycles and cycles fitted with auxiliary motor, petrol fuel, capacity >50<250cc, CKD.”
At N952.15bn, PMS imports accounted for 6.60 per cent of Nigeria’s total import bill of N14.42tn during the quarter.
Despite the sharp quarter-on-quarter increase, however, petrol imports remained significantly below the level recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Nigeria imported N2.83tn worth of PMS in Q2 2025, meaning the N952.15bn recorded in Q2 2026 represented a year-on-year decline of N1.88tn, or approximately 66.4 per cent.
The figures suggest that although Nigeria’s dependence on imported petrol has fallen substantially compared with the previous year, imports rebounded sharply in the second quarter after plunging to N87.40bn in Q1.
The resurgence comes amid an ongoing dispute between the Dangote refinery and petroleum marketers over the continued importation of refined petroleum products, even as domestic refining capacity expands.
