By Christiana Ekpa
The Executive Chairman of the National Revenue Service (NRS), Zach Adedeji, has announced that the agency is targeting a total revenue of ₦40.7 trillion in 2026, covering taxes, royalties, and other mineral revenues under ongoing tax reforms.
Adedeji disclosed this during a joint session with the economic team of President Bola Tinubu including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu who appeared before the House Committee on Appropriation to review the performance of the 2025 budget and present projections for 2026.
He explained that following reforms transferring petroleum royalties and other revenue streams to the NRS, the agency recorded significant progress in 2025. The revenue target for 2025 was ₦25.2 trillion an increase of ₦3.5 trillion compared to actual collections in 2024.
According to him, the service exceeded expectations, collecting ₦28.23 trillion in 2025 — surpassing its target by ₦3 trillion, representing a 12 percent performance above projection.
He attributed the strong performance largely to non-oil taxes, which generated ₦21.46 trillion and exceeded their target by ₦3.4 trillion. However, oil-related taxes fell short of expectations by 5.2 percent.
Comparing 2025 with 2024, Adedeji said the service recorded an additional ₦6.5 trillion in revenue a 30.3 percent increase driven primarily by improved non-oil tax performance.
For 2026, he projected revenue of ₦32.14 trillion based on higher oil production forecasts rising from 1.7 million barrels per day in 2025 to 1.8 million barrels per day in 2026. He noted that the projected figure is ₦3.85 trillion higher than actual collections in 2025.
Addressing concerns raised by lawmakers over zero capital performance in the 2025 budget, Minister Wale Edun explained that previous administrations relied heavily on Ways and Means financing and subsidy under-recovery arrangements practices he described as unsustainable.
He said President Tinubu halted unchecked Ways and Means financing, which had reached about ₦30 trillion, to restore macroeconomic stability. While acknowledging that the reforms created funding gaps, he insisted they were necessary for long-term economic stability.
Minister Atiku Bagudu noted that during budget discussions with the National Assembly, an agreement was reached to roll over 70 percent of 2025 capital allocations into the 2026 budget to improve funding implementation.
Lawmakers emphasized the need for transparency in revenue projections and budget execution, with the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, stressing that the engagement was necessary to scrutinize the 2026 proposal and assess 2025 performance.
He added that since the 2025 revenue target of ₦25 trillion had been exceeded with ₦28 trillion collected, Nigerians deserve clear information on how projections and implementation plans are structured for improved accountability.
If you want, I can also make it shorter for online publication or more headline-style for social media.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
