Executive Chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, Tuesday, disclosed that the federal government had set a revenue target of N40.71 trillion for the service in 2026. This is 44 per cent higher than the N25.2 trillion target for 2025.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day management retreat, with the theme, “Designed to Adapt, Built to Deliver,” in Abuja, Adedeji revealed that the service collected N28.3 trillion last year, exceeding its set target by 12 per cent.
Represented by Executive Director, Government and Large Taxpayers Group, NRS, Ms Amina Ado Kurawa, Adedeji charged the management and staff of the service to do away with old beliefs. He said the credibility of the country’s revenue architecture and confidence in the Nigerian economy rested on them.
He stated, “If we walk into the future with rigid beliefs, we will build walls where bridges are required. But if we lead with honesty, courage, and an open mind, we will build an institution worthy of this moment.
“Recently, I reflected deeply on an article in the Harvard Business Review titled, ‘The Hidden Beliefs That Hold Leaders Back’. Its central argument is both simple and confronting: leaders rarely fail because they lack intelligence, experience, or strategy.
More often, they fall short because of the invisible beliefs they carry about themselves, about others, and about what leadership should look like, beliefs that quietly shape decisions, behaviours, and outcomes.
“The Nigeria Revenue Service will not be defined by what we say in this room. It will be defined by who we become after we leave it.”
A breakdown of the 2025 collection showed that non-oil taxes accounted for N21.4 trillion, against the projected N18 trillion.
Total oil tax collection stood at N6.8 trillion, representing 95 per cent of the N7.2 trillion target set for the sector.
Both oil and non-oil tax revenue grew year-on-year by 19 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.
In a statement issued by Special Adviser (Media) to the NRS chairman, Dr. Dare Adekanmbi, Kurawa said, “For the year 2025, oil tax revenue totalled N6.6trillion, representing a growth of 19 per cent over the N5.8 trillion realised during the corresponding period in 2024.
“Non-oil tax revenue for 2025 exceeded the 2024 total, reaching N21.5 trillion compared to N15.9 trillion for the same period in 2024—representing a growth of 35 per cent.
“This growth was driven by administrative enhancements, broadening of the Withholding system, digitalisation efforts, improved tax compliance initiatives and stronger enforcement tactics introduced by NRS.”
The statement added that the 44 per cent increase in the target for the agency was based on the expanded mandate of NRS to be a revenue system integrator for the country, including the collection of royalty, hitherto the responsibility of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Earlier, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, who joined the event virtually, charged Nigerians to rely more on made-in-Nigeria products, saying this would reduce revenue losses.
Edun said, “We talk about buying from West Africa or trading with Africa as a whole, but intra-Nigerian trade is critical. We all know what spending in Nigeria does for the economy; we know what it does for the revenue targets of NRS.
“The debt service that was paid by the developing countries in 2024 was $163 billion, while the overseas development assistance that came in was $42 billion. The foreign direct investment and the private sector funding that came in from abroad to developing countries were just $97 billion.
“So, you can see that, as developing countries, the flow of funding. What we are giving out is more than we are getting through these various categories.
“Clearly, it is what we do for ourselves internally that is going to be important at this time.”
The minister reiterated government’s desire to deliver in the areas of fiscal reforms and revenue mobilisation, saluting the management and staff of NRS for not just pivotal, but also indispensable role they play in domestic revenue mobilisation.
Chairman of National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, Joseph Tegbe, stressed the need for clinical delivery and execution of the tax laws.
Tegbe said the quality of execution would, ultimately, determine whether the reform would succeed or merely join a long list of well-intentioned initiatives that failed to transform outcomes.
He explained that the country’s continued dependence on what he described as volatile oil revenues exposed it to shocks beyond control, “while rising public expenditure demands stable, predictable, and sustainable domestic revenue.”
Tegbe said, “History will judge this reform not simply by the revenues it generates, but by the trust it rebuilds between the Nigerian state and its citizens.
“It is essential that we are clear about the role of the Nigeria Revenue Service. NRS is not just another agency. It is the nation’s revenue system integrator.”
James Emejo
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