The Nigeria Revenue Service has set an ambitious revenue target of N40.7tn for 2026, banking on stronger non-oil collections, expanded compliance, automation, and tighter enforcement to sustain recent growth momentum.
The target, unveiled at the NRS Management Retreat in Abuja on Tuesday, represents a sharp increase of about 44 per cent from the N28.29tn collected in 2025 and more than six times the N6.4tn recorded in 2021, reflecting the Federal Government’s push to boost domestic revenue and reduce reliance on borrowing.
Speaking at the retreat, the Executive Director of Government and Large Taxpayers at the NRS, Amina Ado, said the service’s strong 2025 performance provided a solid base for the 2026 target, stressing that the gains were driven largely by operational improvements rather than inflation or exchange-rate effects.
“We were given a target of N25.2tn, and if we compare that with what we did in 2024, which was N21.7tn, at the end of last year we were able to deliver N28.23tn,” Ado said.
“That is about 30 per cent more than what we collected in 2024, and we achieved 112 per cent of our target.”
She said the results were significant given the relative stability in the exchange rate in 2025, noting that “the results we saw last year were not really just about inflation and all that stuff; it was more about the improvements we have seen during the year and the actions we took that resulted in this.”
According to data presented at the retreat, NRS revenue rose steadily from N6.4tn in 2021 to N10.18tn in 2022, N12.34tn in 2023, N21.7tn in 2024, and N28.29tn in 2025, with the N40.71tn target for 2026 reflecting expectations that the upward trajectory will be sustained.
Ado said non-oil revenue remained the key driver of growth and would account for the bulk of the 2026 target, given the volatility associated with oil prices and production.
“Our success was really driven by the non-oil collection, which we could impact by the actions we took during the year,” she said.
Projections showed non-oil revenue rising from N18tn in 2025 to about N24.84tn in 2026, an increase of nearly 38 per cent, while oil-related revenue was expected to grow marginally from about N7.2tn to N7.3tn.
She said Company Income Tax (CIT), Value Added Tax (VAT), and the Development Levy would anchor the non-oil expansion, noting that VAT and CIT both exceeded targets in 2025, while Capital Gains Tax recorded a one-off spike due to divestments in the oil and gas sector.
She added that improved filing and payment compliance, stricter enforcement, internal restructuring, expanded withholding VAT, automation, and digitalisation were central to the improved performance.
Looking ahead, Ado said achieving the N40.7tn target would require automated petroleum tax and royalty assessments, more aggressive engagement with MDAs and sub-national entities, improved audit turnaround times, and deeper use of data from e-invoicing and government contracts.
Speaking earlier at the retreat, the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji, said the transition from the former Federal Inland Revenue Service to the NRS marked a decisive break from the past and signalled a new era of institutional responsibility.
He said the credibility of Nigeria’s revenue architecture and confidence in the wider economy now rested on the service’s ability to adapt, lead, and deliver results.
Adedeji added that leadership, rather than structure or technology alone, would determine whether the new institution succeeded.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, Joseph Tegbe, said Nigeria’s low tax-to-GDP ratio remained a major structural weakness that exposed the country to external shocks and forced excessive reliance on volatile revenues and borrowing.
He said revenue administration excellence was no longer optional but essential to Nigeria’s fiscal future.