Nigeria’s expenditure on fuel imports dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2026, signaling a significant shift in the country’s energy trade landscape. Fresh data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that only N87.4 billion was spent on fuel importation between January and March 2026, compared to N2.27 trillion recorded during the same period in 2025.
The dramatic decline represents a reduction of N2.18 trillion or 96.15 percent year-on-year, highlighting the changing dynamics in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. The latest figures suggest a substantial reduction in the country’s dependence on imported fuel products, a development that could ease pressure on foreign exchange demand and improve trade balances.
Further analysis of the NBS foreign trade report revealed that fuel was notably absent from the list of the country’s top traded products with the rest of the world, Africa, and the West African region during the review period. Instead, major traded commodities included crude petroleum oils, gas oil, durum wheat, data transmission machines, used vehicles, motorcycles, agricultural equipment, medicaments, aircraft parts, and petroleum-related products.
The report also showed that Nigeria’s total imports fell significantly in the first quarter of 2026. Import value stood at N13.62 trillion, representing an 18.17 percent decline from N16.64 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025 and a 21.05 percent drop from N17.25 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025. China maintained its position as Nigeria’s largest source of imports, followed by the United States, India, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, imports of other oil products also recorded a steep decline. The value of these imports stood at N748.1 billion in Q1 2026, down by 85.05 percent from N5.01 trillion recorded in the same period of 2025 and 81.38 percent lower than the N4.02 trillion reported in the preceding quarter. The trend underscores the ongoing transformation in Nigeria’s petroleum supply chain as the country seeks to strengthen local refining capacity and reduce reliance on imported petroleum products.
source: newtelegraph