The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has met its 2025 tax revenue target for the oil and gas sector ahead of schedule, marking a major milestone in the government’s efforts to bolster public finances amid ongoing economic reforms.
Zacch Adedeji, FIRS chairman credited the improved security in the oil-rich Niger Delta for unlocking higher production volumes and profits, which in turn boosted tax receipts from the sector.
“For the first time in a long while, we met our oil and gas target, which is actually as a result of the peace that has been maintained where oil and gas facilities are located,” Adedeji said Wednesday in Abuja. The revenue achievement comes against the backdrop of President Bola Tinubu’s push to enhance non-debt revenue and stabilize the economy through a combination of subsidy reforms, tax expansion, and tighter security measures.
The revenue achievement comes against the backdrop of President Bola Tinubu’s push to enhance non-debt revenue and stabilize the economy through a combination of subsidy reforms, tax expansion, and tighter security measures.
The oil and gas sector remains Nigeria’s largest source of foreign exchange and a critical pillar of government revenue, despite longstanding production challenges and fluctuating global prices.
Adedeji emphasized that security remains a foundational requirement for sustained prosperity, particularly in regions like the Niger Delta that host vital energy infrastructure.
The oil and gas sector remains Nigeria’s largest source of foreign exchange and a critical pillar of government revenue, despite longstanding production challenges and fluctuating global prices.
Adedeji emphasized that security remains a foundational requirement for sustained prosperity, particularly in regions like the Niger Delta that host vital energy infrastructure.
“Production is happening and companies are making more profit from it,” he noted, linking economic growth to stability.
The announcement was made during a courtesy visit by General Christopher Musa, Chief of Defence Staff, to the FIRS headquarters in Abuja. The visit highlighted a growing alignment between fiscal authorities and national security agencies in support of the administration’s development agenda.
In response to the Armed Forces’ role in enabling revenue growth, Adedeji reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to improving military welfare and operational capacity. He pointed to the recent presidential approval for the construction of 1,550 housing units for security personnel as evidence of that support.
“Production is happening and companies are making more profit from it,” he noted, linking economic growth to stability.
The announcement was made during a courtesy visit by General Christopher Musa, Chief of Defence Staff, to the FIRS headquarters in Abuja. The visit highlighted a growing alignment between fiscal authorities and national security agencies in support of the administration’s development agenda.
In response to the Armed Forces’ role in enabling revenue growth, Adedeji reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to improving military welfare and operational capacity. He pointed to the recent presidential approval for the construction of 1,550 housing units for security personnel as evidence of that support.
“You are also critical to our success,” Adedeji told the visiting defense delegation, pledging continued collaboration with security stakeholders to safeguard national assets and economic progress.
Musa, in turn, acknowledged FIRS’s role in sustaining military operations through steady funding. “For us in the Armed Forces, we are nothing without funds. To even buy the good big guns we are carrying will be difficult without the funding,” he said.
Musa also credited Adedeji’s leadership for driving “very remarkable changes” within the tax agency, including what he described as a near tenfold increase in revenue generation since the new administration took office. While independent verification of that figure remains pending, it underscores the military’s growing recognition of fiscal stability as a strategic enabler.
As part of ongoing cooperation between the two institutions, FIRS pledged support for the upcoming African Chiefs of Defence Staff Conference, set to take place in Abuja from August 25 to 27. The event, the first of its kind to be hosted in Nigeria, aims to forge continental security partnerships and promote African-led solutions to regional conflicts.
The CDS said the gathering represents an opportunity to showcase Nigeria’s leadership on the continent and push back against foreign-dominated narratives about Africa’s security challenges. “If you don’t sit down and handle your own situation yourself, nobody will,” he said, adding that many external actors “create these problems that we try to solve.”
FIRS’s early achievement of its 2025 oil and gas revenue target is likely to be welcomed by investors and development partners watching Nigeria’s fiscal performance closely.
With non-oil revenues still lagging, the country needs every boost it can get to reduce its reliance on borrowing and fund critical expenditures—from infrastructure to defense.
