…Sets January 2026 deadline for mandatory e-Receipts
By Seun Ibiyemi
The Federal Government has launched its most ambitious overhaul of public finance administration in more than a decade, introducing a unified digital revenue platform designed to transform how ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) collect, track and remit federal funds.
The reform anchored on four circulars issued by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) between November 24 and 27 ushers Nigeria into a new era of cashless government transactions, automated audit trails and real-time visibility of federal revenue flows.
A key milestone in the rollout is the January 1, 2026 deadline, when the government will begin enforcing mandatory digital receipts for all payments made to MDAs.
Driven by Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, the overhaul is aimed at closing leakages, curbing corruption and strengthening fiscal stability through technology-led controls.
Officials say billions of naira are lost annually to unauthorised deductions, opaque payment channels and manual processes that create opportunities for fraud.
“This is the most far-reaching upgrade to federal treasury operations since the TSA,” an OAGF official told BusinessDay. “It moves Nigeria decisively into a cashless, transparent and data-driven era.”
At the heart of the reforms is the Revenue Optimisation Platform (RevOp), now approved as the government’s central hub for billing, reconciliation, monitoring and performance tracking.
RevOp integrates the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other systems into one real-time dashboard.
For policymakers, the consolidation provides for the first time a single source of truth for federal revenue, enabling more accurate forecasting and quicker interventions when collections fall short. For citizens and businesses, it offers a uniform and verifiable payment experience, eliminating the conflicting channels currently used across MDAs.
The reforms also enforce a strict “No Physical Cash Receipt” policy. All federal payments must now be made electronically, ending the cash-handling practices that have historically enabled fraud and weakened record keeping.
MDAs have been ordered to discontinue the use of customised applications built on unapproved platforms systems often linked to discrepancies between collections and remittances.
In one of the most consequential changes for revenue integrity, the Federal Government has outlawed all deductions at the point of collection, whether labelled as fees, commissions or service charges. Every naira collected must now hit the TSA without exception.
Another major feature is the introduction of the Federal Treasury eReceipt (FTeR), which becomes the only legally recognised proof of payment from January 1, 2026.
Generated centrally through RevOp and transmitted automatically to payers, the digital receipt is designed to eliminate fake acknowledgments, unverifiable slips and parallel receipt books that have long fueled corruption in MDAs.
“The idea is simple: if you pay the federal government, you get a single, verifiable, fraud-proof receipt every time,” the OAGF official said.
For the Treasury, the e-receipt ensures every transaction is traceable from source, creating an auditable digital trail. For businesses operating across multiple regulatory frameworks, it standardises documentation and reduces disputes.
Officials say the automation of controls will reduce discretionary decision-making by frontline officers one of the biggest drivers of corruption in revenue-generating agencies.
While MDAs will need to upgrade systems, retrain staff and transition away from legacy processes, the government insists the long-term gains of transparency, efficiency and fiscal discipline far outweigh short-term disruption.
The reforms, officials emphasise, are central to Nigeria’s wider economic strategy to modernise public finance management, improve revenue performance and strengthen public trust in government transactions.