Nigeria Tax Revenue Jumps 49% to ₦15.8 Trillion on Sweeping Overhaul, Oil Windfalls

Nigeria’s revenue surged 49% in the first five months of the year, exceeding government projections as an overhaul of the tax system and new levies on industries including petroleum and mining boosted collections to 15.8 trillion naira ($11.6 billion).

Official data seen by Bloomberg reveals that total tax revenue collected by the newly restructured Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) skyrocketed by 49% year-on-year, during the first five months of 2026.

Excluding the new taxes, collections rose 15% to ₦12.2 trillion.

The revenue bump was largely driven by oil taxes, which rose more than a fifth to ₦3.96 trillion as higher prices linked to the Middle East conflict boosted earnings in Africa’s top crude producer. Non-oil revenue increased 12.3% to ₦8.2 trillion.

The figures exclude proceeds from personal income tax administered and collected by state governments that took effect Jan. 1 and led to richer citizens paying more.

Africa’s most populous nation last year enacted sweeping changes to its tax code as part of a plan to raise revenue to 18% of gross domestic product by 2030 from about 13%, one of the world’s lowest ratios according to the World Bank, and reduce its reliance on borrowing.

Revenues could get a further boost after the government on Thursday released the guidelines for the transitional process of four new tax laws that became operational this year.

The rules are designed to ease the transition to the new tax regime and ensure the legislation isn’t applied retroactively, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said.