31 States Spend ₦45bn on Fuel for Vehicles, Generators in Six Months

Thirty-one state governments spent a combined ₦45.04bn on fuelling official vehicles, plants and generators in the first half of 2026, representing a 14.35 per cent increase from the ₦39.38bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

An analysis of the states' second-quarter budget implementation reports showed that the expenditure increased by ₦5.65bn, translating to an average monthly spending of ₦7.51bn or approximately ₦248.82m daily.

The spending increase occurred amid rising global oil prices following the Middle East conflict and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude prices reportedly rose from about $61 per barrel at the beginning of 2026 to more than $100.

The International Monetary Fund also reported that petrol and diesel prices in Nigeria increased by 22.5 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively, in March compared with pre-war levels.

Of the total expenditure, ₦28.52bn went into fuelling plants and generators, while ₦16.52bn was spent on government vehicles.

Generator and plant fuel costs increased by ₦3.64bn, representing a 14.63 per cent rise from ₦24.88bn in the first half of 2025. Vehicle fuel expenditure also rose by ₦2.01bn, or 13.88 per cent, from ₦14.50bn.

Consequently, plants and generators accounted for 63.33 per cent of the combined fuel bill and 64.38 per cent of the total increase.

The findings showed that 24 of the 31 states increased their fuel expenditure, while seven recorded reductions. Thirteen states spent more than ₦1bn during the period.

Lagos recorded the highest expenditure at ₦8.93bn, up from ₦7.65bn in 2025, representing a 16.79 per cent increase. The state accounted for 19.83 per cent of the combined spending, with ₦8.26bn allocated to plants and generators and ₦670.20m to vehicles.

Yobe ranked second with ₦3.42bn, compared with ₦2.83bn a year earlier, while Nasarawa came third with ₦3.29bn, up from ₦2.02bn, representing a 62.59 per cent increase.

Kano spent ₦2.99bn, while Ekiti recorded ₦2.81bn. Edo followed with ₦2.74bn, with vehicle fuel accounting for the largest share of its expenditure at ₦2.36bn.

The six highest-spending states accounted for 53.69 per cent of the combined expenditure, while the 10 biggest spenders represented 69.42 per cent.

At the lower end, Kebbi recorded the smallest expenditure at ₦3.06m, followed by Oyo with ₦11.54m, Kogi with ₦288.05m and Delta with ₦358.19m.

Cross River recorded the highest percentage increase, with its fuel bill rising by 353.17 per cent, although its total expenditure remained relatively low at ₦371.32m. Conversely, Oyo recorded the sharpest decline, with spending falling by 98.59 per cent.

A comparison with state revenues showed that the 31 governments generated ₦2.29tn internally and received ₦4.95tn through their reported share of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) during the period.

Their combined fuel expenditure represented 0.62 per cent of total receipts of ₦7.23tn, compared with 0.60 per cent in the first half of 2025.

Although combined revenue increased by 10.63 per cent, fuel spending grew at a faster rate. However, expenditure as a proportion of internally generated revenue declined from 2.22 per cent to 1.97 per cent, following a 28.84 per cent increase in internally generated revenue.