The Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government have spent N11.85bn on fuel for motor vehicles and generators between January and April 2026, as elevated domestic petrol prices and renewed Iran-US tensions continue to raise concerns over energy costs and global oil market stability.
An analysis of data obtained from the Open Treasury Portal by The PUNCH showed that the amount represented a 113.4 per cent increase from the N5.55bn spent on the same items in the corresponding period of 2025. The Open Treasury Portal is the Federal Government’s public financial transparency platform, which publishes budget implementation, payment and fiscal data of ministries, departments and agencies to improve accountability in public spending.
While the Open Treasury Portal does not disclose a detailed breakdown by ministry, department or agency under the expenditure category, the figures represent fuel and related operating costs incurred by Federal Government entities financed from the federal budget.
The data showed that motor vehicle fuel cost rose by 108.2 per cent from N3.17bn in the first four months of 2025 to N6.60bn in the same period of 2026. In April 2026 alone, the government spent N2.94bn on motor vehicle fuel, compared with N1.73bn in April 2025.
The approved budget for motor vehicle fuel also increased from N122.63bn in 2025 to N207.37bn in 2026, indicating an increase of N84.74bn or 69.1 per cent. Despite the rise, only 3.18 per cent of the 2026 motor vehicle fuel budget had been spent as of April, leaving a balance of N200.77bn.
Spending on plant and generator fuel also rose sharply from N2.38bn in the first four months of 2025 to N5.24bn in the same period of 2026, representing an increase of N2.86bn or 120.3 per cent. The April actual spending on generator fuel stood at N2.99bn in 2026, compared with N1.37bn in April 2025.
The budget for plant and generator fuel increased from N104.40bn in 2025 to N185.80bn in 2026, while execution stood at 2.82 per cent as of April. Combined, the 2026 budget for vehicle and generator fuel stood at N393.18bn, compared with N227.02bn in 2025. This means the allocation rose by N166.15bn or 73.2 per cent year-on-year.
Although Nigeria is a crude oil producer, higher global crude prices often feed into domestic petrol costs because the downstream market is largely deregulated and petrol prices now respond more directly to landing costs, refining margins and exchange rate pressures.
The implication is that ministries, departments and agencies may face higher operating costs if petrol prices remain elevated, especially for transportation, power generation and field operations. Beyond vehicle and generator fuel, other fuel-related spending also rose significantly in 2026.
The government spent N2.25bn on other transport equipment fuel in the first four months of 2026, compared with just N92.07m in the same period of 2025. Aircraft fuel cost also rose from N702.30m to N8.01bn, while sea boat fuel increased from N1.50bn to N8.76bn.