Nigeria’s most capitalised companies on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), popularly referred to as SWOOTs (Stocks Worth Over One Trillion naira), remitted a combined N2.55 trillion in Company Income Tax (CIT) in the first nine months of 2025, covering 92.7% of the Federal Government’s entire N2.75 trillion CIT target for the year.
This represents a 63.74% rise over the N1.56 trillion paid during the same period in 2024 and marks the strongest nine-month CIT filing ever recorded by top-tier corporates.
In fact, the tax paid by SWOOTs in 2024 alone (over N1.6 trillion) exceeded the government’s entire CIT projection of N1.47 trillion for that year.
The SWOOTs’ performance now forms the bedrock of the government’s non-oil revenue strategy, helping drive the 2025 non-oil revenue projection to N5.71 trillion, compared to N3.52 trillion in 2024.
Notably, the reported CIT figures exclude expected dividend earnings from state-owned entities such as the Bank of Industry (BOI), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), and NLNG—suggesting potential for even higher revenue when these are factored into the non-oil revenue target.
Banks and energy firms lead
The largest contributions came from high-performing financial institutions and energy producers, buoyed by favourable interest yields and improved crude production.
Top CIT contributors (YoY change):
- Seplat Energy – N469.33 billion (+389.51%)
- Presco Plc – N32.62 billion (+314.59%)
- GTCO – N247.05 billion (+197.11%)
- Access Holdings – N165.44 billion (+188.68%)
- UBA – N167.14bn (+63.40%)
- Aradel Holdings – N39.99 billion (+159.93%)
However, pressure points emerged in heavily import-dependent sectors:
- MTN Nigeria’s CIT remission plunged −82.98% to N21.55 billion, impacted by naira depreciation and FX losses.
- Dangote Cement’s CIT also fell -10.37%, N115.39 billion
Analysts warn that unless economic conditions stabilise, underperforming sectors may impede overall momentum.
Government’s bold revenue targets
The government’s 2025 CIT target of N2.75 trillion is 87% higher than the N1.47 trillion projection for 2024, signalling its confidence in robust corporate earnings and aggressive tax mobilisation.
The company income tax revenue from just 22 companies raises viability expectations that the government could generate much more in CIT, given the fact that there are more than 1,000 other viable companies operating in the country but not quoted on the NGX.
Bringing those unquoted firms into the tax net for proper tax remission will raise the government’s tax earnings, which some analysts say could hit over N4 trillion.
Tax expert and convener of Blakey’s National Tax Conference, Mr. Blakey Ijezie, emphasised that new tax reforms—effective from January 1, 2026—are designed to resolve legacy issues, including evasion, underreporting and revenue diversion.
Key reform features include:
- Unified Tax Administration Framework
- Mandatory Tax Identification Number for all taxable entities
- Expansion to include digital assets and previously untaxed income
- 4% Development Levy on corporate profits
- Economic Development Tax Incentive replacing Pioneer Status Incentive
- Establishment of a Tax Ombuds Office
“The fact that 22 companies alone generated N2.55 trillion in nine months raises critical questions about compliance across thousands of other businesses,” Ijezie noted.
“If these firms can pay this much, it suggests enormous potential in unlocking tax revenue from the wider economy,” said the Chartered Accountant and retired employee of PwC behind Okwudili Ijezie & Co.
Analysts call for tax base expansion
Dr. David Walker Ogogo, the pioneer Registrar of Lagos-based Institute of Capital Markets Registrars and author of several corporate publications, warned that while the tax performance of NGX’s most capitalized firms is encouraging, reliance on a small pool of corporates poses fiscal risks.
“Nigeria cannot sustain a tax strategy that depends on a few companies in an economy bustling with thousands of entities across sectors. The focus must shift from extracting more from compliant firms to expanding the compliance net while providing incentives to encourage full compliance,” said the capital market expert.
CEO of Globalview Capital Limited, Mr. Aruna Kebira, said that the telecom, power and industrial sectors will require fiscal support to reverse recent CIT declines, especially given rising operating costs and subdued consumer demand.
“The government should help the lagging sectors to stabilize and improve their operations and sustain their workforce. Their employment generation value should also be uppermost in the government’s consideration, and not tax alone,” said Kebira.
Can SWOOTs deliver the full-year target?
Projections indicate that the SWOOTs could surpass the government’s CIT target by year-end if current momentum in banks and energy is sustained. However, the full-year outcome hinges on:
- Naira stability and improved liquidity access
- Moderation of energy and financing costs
- Strong Q4 performance in energy and financial services
- Successful digitalisation and use of AI-driven tax tracing tools under SRGI
The Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI) aims to broaden the tax base and increase Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 15% by 2025 and 18% by 2026, positioning digital enforcement as a key advantage.
While the record-breaking N2.55 trillion CIT payment by SWOOTs underscores resilience and strengthens government revenue prospects, it simultaneously highlights structural vulnerabilities.
As Ijezie concluded: “2025 has shown the strength of Nigeria’s biggest corporations. But sustainable tax reform will only be achieved when hundreds of other companies begin to contribute at scale.”
Unless there is a rapid expansion of tax inclusion and compliance, Nigeria risks building its fiscal architecture on a strong but narrow foundation—impressive in output, but fragile in breadth.
