…As states, FCT record 41% revenue growth
Lagos alone accounted for more than a third of the N5.15 trillion Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) recorded by Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in 2025, underscoring the wide disparity in the capacity of states to raise revenue internally.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the states and FCT generated a combined N5.149 trillion in IGR during the year, up from N3.65 trillion in 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of about 41 per cent.
Lagos led the 37 jurisdictions with N1.77 trillion, accounting for approximately 34.4 per cent of the total revenue generated during the year.
The state also generated more revenue than the next five highest-earning jurisdictions combined.
Rivers ranked second with N428.42 billion, followed by Enugu with N406.77 billion, the FCT with N356.34 billion, Ogun with N252.36 billion and Delta with N202.49 billion.
Together with Lagos, the six jurisdictions accounted for about N3.42 trillion of the total IGR recorded nationwide.
Lagos’ N1.77 trillion alone was higher than the combined N1.65 trillion generated by Rivers, Enugu, the FCT, Ogun and Delta.
The NBS figures further showed that tax revenue remained the dominant source of IGR across the states and FCT, contributing N3.79 trillion, while revenue generated by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) accounted for N1.36 trillion.
Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax was the largest individual tax source, generating N2.64 trillion during the year.
Withholding tax contributed N503.46 billion, while direct assessment stood at N112.65 billion. Stamp duties generated N111.57 billion, road taxes accounted for N49.88 billion and capital gains tax contributed N12.40 billion.
Lagos’ N1.77 trillion revenue was largely tax-driven, with N1.48 trillion coming from taxes and another N292.64 billion generated through MDAs.
Rivers also recorded a predominantly tax-based revenue structure, generating N414.38 billion from taxes and N14.03 billion from MDAs.
Enugu recorded a markedly different pattern. Of its N406.77 billion total IGR, N355.25 billion came from MDAs, while tax revenue stood at N51.52 billion.
At the bottom of the 2025 ranking, Yobe generated N16.01 billion, followed by Ebonyi with N17.18 billion and Sokoto with N20.48 billion.
The disparity between the highest and lowest earners was particularly wide. Lagos’ N1.77 trillion was about 111 times the N16.01 billion recorded by Yobe.
The NBS IGR series covers Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT, classifying internally generated revenue into tax revenue and MDAs revenue. Tax collections are further broken down into categories including PAYE, direct assessment, road taxes, stamp duties, capital gains tax and withholding tax.