Politics

36 states, FCT generate N5.15tn IGR in 2025 – NBS

The figure represents a 40.93 per cent increase from the previous year, with Lagos accounting for more than a third of the combined revenue.

The 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) generated a combined N5.15 trillion in internally generated revenue (IGR) in 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported.

According to the statistics office data, Lagos remained the largest contributor, generating N1.77 trillion, while Rivers, Enugu, the FCT and Ogun also recorded more than N250 billion each.

The figures are contained in the NBS’ 2025 Internally Generated Revenue at State Level report, released on Thursday.

Lagos generated N1.769 trillion in 2025, accounting for about 34 per cent of the combined IGR of the 36 states and the FCT.

The state’s revenue increased from ₦1.26 trillion in 2024, representing a rise of about 40 per cent year-on-year.

Rivers followed with N428.42 billion, compared with N317.30 billion in 2024, while Enugu generated ₦406.77 billion, more than double its ₦180.50 billion recorded the previous year.

The FCT generated N356.34 billion in 2025, up from ₦282.36 billion in 2024.

Ogun recorded ₦252.36 billion, compared with ₦194.93 billion in the previous year.

The figures show that while revenue increased across the combined states and the FCT, the bulk of IGR remained concentrated among a relatively small number of sub-national governments.

The NBS categorises IGR into two broad sources: tax revenue and revenue generated by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Tax revenue includes Pay As You Earn (PAYE), direct assessment, road taxes, stamp duties, capital gains tax, withholding tax, other taxes and revenue collected through local government areas.

In its 2024 report, the NBS said the 36 states and the FCT generated ₦3.63 trillion, representing a 49.7 per cent increase from ₦2.43 trillion in 2023.

Lagos accounted for ₦1.26 trillion of the 2024 total, followed by Rivers with ₦317.30 billion and the FCT with ₦282.36 billion. Ogun and Enugu recorded ₦194.93 billion and ₦180.50 billion, respectively.

The 2024 figures also showed that tax revenue accounted for about 73.35 per cent of total IGR nationally, with PAYE contributing ₦1.86 trillion, or 69.84 per cent of total tax revenue.

One of the most significant changes in the 2025 figures is Enugu’s revenue growth.

The state’s IGR rose from ₦180.5 billion in 2024 to ₦406.77 billion in 2025, an increase of about 125 per cent.

PREMIUM TIMES reported in February that the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service attributed the 2025 figure to increased revenue collection, with non-tax revenue accounting for ₦355.25 billion, or 87.4 per cent of the state’s total IGR.

The agency said tax revenue stood at ₦51.52 billion, compared with ₦30 billion in 2024.

The latest NBS figures therefore place Enugu among the states with the largest IGR increases in the latest reporting period.

The rise in the IGR comes against the broader fiscal challenge facing Nigerian states, many of which continue to rely heavily on allocations from the Federation Account to finance their budgets.

PREMIUM TIMES reported in 2025, following an analysis of the 36 states’ budgets, that more than 20 states relied almost entirely on federal allocations to fund their operations. The analysis found that Lagos had the highest proportion of internally generated revenue in its revenue structure, while several states depended on federal allocations for more than 90 per cent of their anticipated revenue.

Another PREMIUM TIMES report based on BudgIT’s State of States analysis found that 35 states recorded combined revenue of N17.2 trillion in 2024, but 29 states depended on Federation Account allocations for at least half of their income.