Thirty-one state governments spent ₦45.04bn on fuel for motor vehicles, plants and generators between January and June 2026.
That is 14.35 per cent more than the ₦39.38bn recorded in the same period of 2025.
The PUNCH reported, citing the states’ second-quarter budget implementation reports, that the combined fuel bill rose by ₦5.65bn. Lagos, Yobe, Nasarawa, Kano and Ekiti recorded the highest spending.
The figure averages ₦7.51bn monthly, or roughly ₦248.82m daily, across the six months.
The increase came as global oil prices climbed following the Middle East conflict and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude rose from $61 per barrel at the start of 2026 to above $100.
The International Monetary Fund said petrol and diesel prices in Nigeria rose by 22.5 per cent and 16 per cent respectively in March, compared with pre-war levels, which added to operating costs.
The analysis looked at cumulative first-half actual expenditure under “Motor Vehicle Fuel Cost” and “Plant / Generator Fuel Cost”. It did not cover annual budget provisions or spending from April to June alone.
The same 31 states were used for both years to keep the comparison consistent.
Separately classified spending on aircraft fuel, cooking gas, other transport equipment, maintenance and power-plant gas was excluded.
Of the ₦45.04bn spent, ₦28.52bn went into fuelling plants and generators, while motor vehicles took ₦16.52bn.
Spending on plants and generators rose by ₦3.64bn, or 14.63 per cent, from ₦24.88bn in the first half of 2025.
Vehicle fuel costs increased by ₦2.01bn, or 13.88 per cent, from ₦14.50bn.
As a result, generators and plants accounted for 63.33 per cent of the combined bill and 64.38 per cent of the year-on-year increase.
The findings showed that 24 of the 31 states raised their combined fuel spending, while seven recorded reductions.
Thirteen states spent more than ₦1bn each.
Lagos recorded the highest expenditure at ₦8.93bn, up from ₦7.65bn in the corresponding period of 2025. That is an increase of ₦1.28bn, or 16.79 per cent.
The state alone accounted for 19.83 per cent of the combined spending and 22.71 per cent of the aggregate increase.
Lagos spent mostly on plant and generator fuel, which reached ₦8.26bn, while motor vehicle fuel accounted for ₦670.20m.
Yobe followed with ₦3.42bn, compared with ₦2.83bn a year earlier, an increase of 20.72 per cent.
Almost all of Yobe’s spending went into plants and generators, which consumed ₦3.39bn, against ₦35.76m for motor vehicles.
Nasarawa ranked third with ₦3.29bn, up from ₦2.02bn in the first half of 2025.
Its ₦1.26bn increase represented growth of 62.59 per cent and accounted for 22.38 per cent of the total increase across the states.
The state spent ₦1.77bn on plant and generator fuel and ₦1.51bn on motor vehicle fuel.
Lagos and Nasarawa together accounted for 45.09 per cent of the aggregate increase, showing that a substantial part of the additional spending was concentrated in the two states.
Kano’s combined expenditure rose by 14.70 per cent to ₦2.99bn, from ₦2.61bn.
Of Kano’s 2026 amount, ₦2.62bn went into plant and generator fuel, while ₦368.27m was recorded for motor vehicles.
Ekiti spent ₦2.81bn, compared with ₦2.33bn a year earlier, an increase of 20.46 per cent.
Plant and generator fuel accounted for ₦2.38bn of Ekiti’s bill, while vehicles consumed ₦430.95m.
Edo followed with ₦2.74bn, up by 20.54 per cent from ₦2.28bn.
Unlike several other leading spenders, Edo’s bill was driven mainly by motor vehicles, which accounted for ₦2.36bn, the highest vehicle-fuel expenditure in the sample.
Plant and generator fuel in Edo cost ₦379.75m.
The six states together accounted for 53.69 per cent of the total fuel bill.
Other states with expenditure above ₦1bn were Ogun, ₦2.21bn; Benue, ₦1.70bn; Bauchi, ₦1.64bn; Abia, ₦1.54bn; Anambra, ₦1.26bn; Adamawa, ₦1.12bn; and Borno, ₦1.09bn.
The 10 biggest spenders accounted for 69.42 per cent of the combined expenditure.
Below the ₦1bn mark, Jigawa recorded ₦997.09m, followed by Kwara with ₦981.75m, Bayelsa with ₦961.68m, Enugu with ₦914.17m and Gombe with ₦890.75m.
Taraba spent ₦780.18m, Ondo ₦744.39m, Katsina ₦665.27m, Plateau ₦632.96m and Ebonyi ₦545.37m.
At the lower end, Kebbi recorded the smallest combined fuel expenditure at ₦3.06m, followed by Oyo with ₦11.54m, Kogi with ₦288.05m, Delta with ₦358.19m and Cross River with ₦371.32m.
Sokoto recorded ₦375.50m, Zamfara ₦376.58m and Kaduna ₦401.19m.
Kebbi and Delta reported no actual expenditure under their motor vehicle fuel lines in the first half of 2026. Their combined figures therefore consisted entirely of the amounts recorded for plant and generator fuel.
Cross River recorded the fastest percentage increase, with its bill rising by 353.17 per cent from ₦81.94m to ₦371.32m. Its expenditure nonetheless remained among the lowest in absolute terms.
Enugu followed with an increase of 282.54 per cent, from ₦238.97m to ₦914.17m.
Delta’s bill rose by 236.92 per cent from ₦106.31m to ₦358.19m, while Anambra recorded an increase of 86.06 per cent.
Among states that cut spending, Oyo’s expenditure fell by 98.59 per cent from ₦816.72m to ₦11.54m.
Sokoto’s bill declined by 66.77 per cent from ₦1.13bn to ₦375.50m, while Borno recorded a 61.18 per cent reduction from ₦2.80bn to ₦1.09bn.
Kaduna’s expenditure fell by 47.54 per cent, Kebbi’s by 32.57 per cent, Katsina’s by 25.91 per cent and Kogi’s by 10.86 per cent.
The PUNCH further compared the fuel costs with the states’ internally generated revenue and their receipts from the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
The 31 states generated ₦2.29tn internally and received ₦4.95tn as their reported share of FAAC in the first half of 2026, bringing combined receipts to ₦7.23tn.
Their ₦45.04bn fuel bill was equivalent to 0.62 per cent of these receipts, compared with 0.60 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.
Fuel spending grew faster than the combined revenue, which increased by 10.63 per cent from ₦6.54tn.
However, the bill represented a smaller share of IGR, falling from 2.22 per cent in 2025 to 1.97 per cent in 2026, as internally generated revenue increased by 28.84 per cent.
