Nigeria’s petrol import bill surged by 989.4 per cent to N952.15 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The figure rose sharply from N87.4 billion recorded in the first quarter of the year.

The NBS, in its Q2 2026 foreign trade report, said petrol was Nigeria’s largest imported commodity during the period, accounting for 6.6 per cent of total imports valued at N14.42 trillion.

Other major imports included crude oil, durum wheat, used diesel or semi-diesel vehicles, and motorcycles.

The increase comes despite growing domestic refining capacity, particularly the Dangote Refinery, which has been expanding its presence in the local petrol market.

The refinery recently warned that it could restrict supplies to major oil marketers over continued petrol imports into the country.

Despite the sharp quarter-on-quarter increase, the Q2 2026 petrol import bill was 66.4 per cent lower than the N2.83 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.