By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has collected a record ₦47.39 trillion in taxes between October 2023 and September 2025 — exceeding its revenue target by 15 per cent.
According to new data released on Sunday, the figure represents a 115 per cent rise from the ₦21.97 trillion collected in the previous two-year period. The agency attributed the increase to reforms, digitalisation, and stricter enforcement under its Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, appointed by President Bola Tinubu in September 2023.
Between January and September 2025 alone, FIRS generated ₦22.59 trillion — about 90 per cent of its ₦25.2 trillion annual goal. Non-oil taxes accounted for ₦17.3 trillion, or 76 per cent of total collections, while oil revenue contributed ₦5.29 trillion.
Company Income Tax led with 32.6 per cent of total receipts, followed by non-import VAT (23.2 per cent) and Petroleum Profit Tax (17.4 per cent).
The service credited the surge to tools such as the National Single Window and E-Invoicing System, as well as new tax laws enacted in 2025 to simplify compliance and close loopholes.
Chairman Adedeji, while confirming the figures, said Nigeria’s borrowing strategy remained intentional.
“Borrowing is not a problem,” he said. “If expenditure is ₦100,000 and we plan to raise ₦80,000 in revenue and borrow ₦20,000, that’s still within budgetary limits.”
FIRS projects that total collections could exceed ₦25.2 trillion by December 2025, supporting government spending and reducing reliance on oil revenue.
