Nigeria's motorcycle imports soar by 22% during the first quarter of 2022 according to NBS

NIGERIA'S spending on motorcycle imports ballooned by 22% during the first quarter of 2022 compared with the last three months of 2021 as a total of N74.6bn ($180m) was spent on purchases up from N61.25bn the previous quarter.

According to figures just published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), quarter-on-quarter motorcycle imports indicated that more Nigerians were resorting to overseas purchases. However, the 2022 first quarter figure represented a 37% year-on-year decline against the N117.65bn recorded during the first quarter of 2021.

In its foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report, the NBS said:  “In the first quarter of 2022, manufactured goods mainly imported were safety or relief valves from France and China worth N70.2bn and N3.30bn followed by motorcycles and cycles fitted with an auxiliary motor."

This rise in the motorcycle import bills has been steady since last year after an unexplained decline in the second quarter of 2021. Traditionally, Nigeria has been a big motorcycle market due to the fact that the country has very poor roads and it also has a thriving motorcycle taxi market, popularly known as Okadas.

Many observers believed that since motorcycles are widely used as a means of transport as well as an employment option for many young people, the import bill would naturally be on the increase. However, many state governments have been restricting the use of commercial motorcycles, the latest being Lagos State.

Governor Babajide Sanwoolu banned the operations of commercial motorcycles in six local governments as from June 1. The six local governments listed by the governor are Ikeja, Surulere, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island and Apapa.

Over 2,000 motorcycles of defiant riders were seized on the authorised date, with the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit crushing the impounded vehicles last week. According to Gbenga Omotoso, , the Lagos State commissioner for information and strategy, about 5,000 motorcycles were crushed during the first quarter of this year.