The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says new tax reforms have positioned the agency to generate N40.7 trillion in taxes and royalties in 2026.
Executive Chairman of the NRS, Zach Adedeji, disclosed this on Wednesday during a roundtable in Abuja organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations for key stakeholders in the financial sector.
The 2026 projection represents a significant increase from the N28.23 trillion collected in 2025.
What they are saying
Adedeji explained that the higher target reflects recent reforms transferring petroleum revenues and mineral royalties to the NRS.
- “In light of the tax reforms transferring petroleum and mineral royalties and other revenues to the NRS, the total target is N40.7 trillion.
- “We believe that with the support of the House, we will achieve what we have proposed,” he said.
He recalled that in 2025, the agency surpassed its N25.2 trillion target by generating N28.23 trillion in revenue.
- “Compared with 2024, we collected N6.5 trillion more in 2025, representing a 30.3 per cent increase, driven largely by non-oil taxes,” he said.
Backstory
In 2024, tax reform bills were introduced at the National Assembly to halt revenue collection by certain federal agencies, including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
- The Chairman of the Presidential Tax Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, said at the time that the reforms aimed to stop about 60 federal agencies from collecting taxes, allowing them to focus on their core mandates.
- Under the new framework, all federal taxes are now paid to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which has been renamed the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
The tax reform laws were published in the government gazette in 2025 after being signed into law on June 26, 2025, by President Bola Tinubu.
The legislation laid the foundation for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s tax administration system.
More insights
At the roundtable, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, noted that Nigeria previously relied heavily on Ways and Means financing to cover large fiscal deficits.
- He also said the former subsidy regime, funded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) through under-recovery arrangements, was unsustainable.
- Edun stressed the need to correct fiscal distortions and transition to market-based solutions, which the reforms are designed to achieve.
Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Rep. Abubakar Bichi (APC–Kano), said the engagement allowed lawmakers to review 2025 performance and assess the 2026 revenue projections.
- “This is for us to study, consider and approve the request. We decided to engage the President’s team on 2025 performance and the 2026 proposal.
- “We also engaged the NRS Chairman to clarify the 2026 revenue projections. In 2025, we achieved about N28 trillion against a N25 trillion target.
- “We need more information so Nigerians can understand what is going on,” he said.
What you should know
In December 2025, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) formally rebranded as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) following the enactment of the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act, 2025.
With the new law, the NRS replaced the FIRS as Nigeria’s central revenue authority, expanding its mandate under the country’s sweeping tax reform programme that took effect on January 1, 2026.
