By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s petrol import bill crashed further as the latest foreign trade statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that about N87.401 billion was spent on the importation of fuel between January and March 2026.

A comparative analysis showed the figure plunged by 96.2 per cent or N2.184 trillion compared with the N2.271 trillion spent on fuel imports between January and March 2025.

The NBS data revealed that fuel did not feature among the top 19 traded products with the rest of the world, Africa, or West Africa during the review period.

The biggest factor is the ramp-up of production at Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which has significantly reduced Nigeria’s dependence on imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). As local supplies increasingly meet domestic demand, marketers have had less need to source petrol from overseas.

According to the data, the leading traded products included crude petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, gas oil, durum wheat, machines for reception, conversion and transmission of data, used vehicles, motorcycles, agricultural seeders, medicaments, aircraft parts, butanes, petroleum bitumen, sugar cane, herbicides and fuel additives.

The report read, “The value of total imports stood at N13,619.33bn in the first quarter of 2026, representing an 18.17 per cent decrease from the value recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025 (N16,644.42bn) and a 21.05 per cent decrease compared to the value recorded in Q4 2025 (N17,250.93bn).

“Analysis of Nigeria’s import trade reveals that China remained the leading source of imports in the first quarter of 2026, followed by the United States of America, India, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates.

The most imported commodities during the quarter were petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (crude), gas oil, durum wheat, machines for the reception, conversion, and transmission of voice, images, or data, and used vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines.

“The value of other oil products imported in Q1 2026 stood at N748.10bn, reflecting an 85.05 per cent decrease from N5,005.22bn in Q1 2025 and an 81.38 per cent decrease from N4,018.31bn recorded in Q4 2025.

“Nigeria spent N2.694tn on petrol imports in the first quarter of 2022. The import bill declined by N661bn, or 24.5 per cent, to N2.033tn in the corresponding period of 2023.”

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has blamed the rising prices of cooking gas, also known as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), on market pressures from foreign exchange volatility and rising logistics costs.

In a statement, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, expressed the government’s concerns about the pain caused by rising cooking gas prices, announcing moves to ensure adequate, reliable and affordable gas for households, industry and power generation.

To remedy the situation, the FG said it has ordered the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to engage with cooking gas producers, marketers and other stakeholders to sustain supply and enhance market stability of the product.

“The recent price adjustments are driven largely by prevailing market realities such as foreign exchange volatility, rising logistics costs, infrastructure constraints and fluctuations in international LPG prices. These factors should not be misinterpreted as evidence of policy failure,” he stated.

According to him, the government’s commitment is reflected in the interventions designed to stabilise the domestic LPG market, including the directive that all LPG produced in Nigeria be prioritised for local consumption.

“This policy has already strengthened domestic supply, reduced dependence on imports and improved market resilience,” the statement said.

Business Post reports that residents in Lagos and Ogun States continue to face scarcity and high cost of LPG. For a few vendors with the product, the price ranged between N2,000 and N2,400. In early May, it was sold at N1,200.

Mr Ekpo said the commencement of LPG deliveries from the new Seplat gas facility in July will significantly boost national supply.

“The minister also confirms that no producer is exporting LPG volumes designated for the domestic market, as regulatory measures remain firmly in place to prioritise local needs.

“The outlook for LPG supply remains positive, and the Federal Government will continue to pursue measures that enhance availability, affordability and long-term energy security for Nigerian consumers,” the statement.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that stablecoins now form a key bridge between crypto markets and the traditional financial system in Nigeria, ranking the country top in inflows in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to a new report from the institution, Nigeria received about $59 billion in crypto-asset inflows between July 2023 and June 2024. It ranked second globally on Chainalysis’s 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index, and sixth in 2025.

Within sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria accounts for roughly 60 per cent of stablecoin inflows since 2019, the report titled Stablecoins in Nigeria: A Growing Cross-Border Channel’ released on Tuesday, noted.

Nigerian households and small firms are moving money across borders in a new way: via smartphones, digital wallets, and US Dollar–pegged crypto assets known as stablecoins.

What began as a niche technology has become a meaningful cross-border payments channel. Its rapid growth is easing long-standing frictions in cross-border transactions.

It is also testing the limits of existing monetary and regulatory frameworks.

IMF noted that the appeal is straightforward, adding that stablecoins allow users with a smartphone and internet access to receive remittances or make cross-border payments in minutes, often at a lower cost than traditional channels.

“For households and small firms with limited access to formal banking services, this is a practical alternative.”

According to the report, global drivers help explain the broader uptake in Nigeria.

“Stablecoins are relatively stable in value, easy to transfer, and widely used as settlement assets within crypto markets.

“They facilitate trading between exchanges and provide a convenient store of liquidity. For remittances, they can undercut conventional channels, where the average cost of sending US$200 to sub-Saharan Africa remains around 9 per cent of transaction value, well above the global average of 6 per cent, according to the World Bank.”

Domestic conditions have amplified these effects. In 2023 and 2024, the sharp depreciation of the naira, high inflation, and constrained access to foreign exchange increased demand for dollar-linked assets.

Stablecoins offered both a hedge against currency risk and a tool for paying overseas suppliers.

After the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restricted banks from servicing crypto exchanges in February 2021, IMF said activity shifted to less regulated channels, notably peer-to-peer platforms.

The rise of stablecoins in Nigeria brings clear benefits – faster, cheaper cross-border payments can support trade, remittances, and financial inclusion.

However, it said the same features raise policy concerns, including monetary sovereignty. As stablecoins are typically denominated in US Dollars, widespread use can resemble a digital form of dollarisation. By reducing demand for the local currency, the IMF said it could weaken the transmission of domestic monetary policy.

“Another concern is financial integrity. Activity that once flowed through banks is moving increasingly to digital wallets and crypto exchanges.

Monitoring systems designed for traditional intermediaries may not capture these transactions effectively, the report stated, noting that the speed and anonymity of some platforms can also increase risks of illicit finance, including money laundering.

IMF noted that these risks are not unique to Nigeria, but the scale of adoption makes them more pronounced.

The IMF also said Nigeria should adopt a balanced approach to stablecoins by supporting innovation while managing risks. It identified four priorities: maintaining a stable and credible Naira, strengthening oversight of stablecoin issuers, improving data collection on stablecoin transactions, and enhancing payment infrastructure.

The Fund noted that recent economic reforms have helped restore confidence in the naira but urged authorities to align regulations with emerging global standards and improve monitoring through better blockchain and transaction data. It also said further investment in faster and cheaper cross-border payment systems could reduce reliance on unregulated stablecoin channels.

The report noted that stablecoins are neither a passing trend nor a complete substitute for traditional finance, saying they are best seen as a response to persistent frictions in cross-border payments. In Nigeria, those frictions are real, and users have found a workaround.

“The policy challenge is to narrow the gap that made the workaround attractive, while ensuring that new risks remain contained. That requires a clear strategy: open to innovation but anchored in sound macroeconomic policy and effective regulation”, the report concluded.