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Nigeria Revenue Service collected N3.70 trillion in August 2026, with upstream petroleum taxes, VAT and oil royalties providing a major boost to federation revenue.
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Petroleum royalties hit N993.02 billion, beating the monthly target by N318.02 billion, while upstream petroleum and company taxes exceeded budget by N150.07 billion.
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Customs revenue weakened sharply, falling N144.13 billion below its August target and N20.51 billion below the amount collected in July.
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FAAC officials raised questions over solid minerals revenue records as reconciliation of previously unreported Customs fees was extended to cover January-August 2026.
October 17, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s federally collected revenue received a major boost in August 2026 as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) generated N3.70 trillion in tax and related revenue, driven largely by strong petroleum taxes, royalties and Value Added Tax (VAT) receipts.
The performance came despite a sharp shortfall in revenue collected by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), which missed its monthly target by N144.13 billion and also recorded a decline compared with its July collection.
Details of the revenue performance were contained in a report presented during the technical session of the September meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) at the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja.
The document, prepared by the Technical Sub-Committee of FAAC under the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), provided a breakdown of revenues collected by major government agencies for August.
According to the report, the NRS collected N758.82 billion from Petroleum Profit Tax, Hydrocarbon Tax and Company Income Tax on upstream petroleum activities.
The amount surpassed the provisional monthly budget of N608.75 billion by N150.07 billion, highlighting the strong contribution of the petroleum sector to government revenue during the month.
However, collections from Company Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duties amounted to N1.04 trillion, slightly below the monthly target of N1.07 trillion.
VAT collections also remained strong at N834.84 billion, comprising N640.87 billion from non-import VAT and N193.98 billion from import VAT.
The figure exceeded the monthly VAT budget of N829.92 billion by N4.93 billion.
Petroleum Royalties Beat Target By N318bn
The strongest performance was recorded in petroleum royalties, which generated N993.02 billion against a monthly budget of N675 billion. The collection was N318.02 billion above target.
“The sum of N993,016,602,697.65 was collected as Petroleum Royalties which was higher than the monthly budget of N675,000,000,000.00 by N318,016,602,697.65,” the OAGF report said.
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Revenue from Gas Flared Penalty, Gas Flare Fee, rentals and miscellaneous oil sources also substantially exceeded projections.
The government collected N66.76 billion from the category against a monthly target of N31.10 billion, representing a positive variance of N35.66 billion.
The report said: “Also, the sum of N66,756,478,620.81 was collected as Gas Flared Penalty, Gas Flare Fee, Rental and Miscellaneous Oil Revenue as against the monthly budget of N31,099,583,333.33 resulting in a positive variance of N35,656,895,287.81.”
Revenue from minerals was significantly smaller. The NRS collected N8.04 billion in mineral royalties and N362.19 million from other mineral revenue during the month.
The combined performance exceeded the N8 billion monthly budget by N398.55 million.
Solid Minerals Revenue Records Queried
Separately, the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development reported N70.84 million in fees for August.
“The representative of MSMD reported that a total sum of N70,841,156.54 was collected for the month of August, 2026 as Fees,” the OAGF document stated.
However, the Accountant-General of Ondo State queried the absence of a ledger showing monthly collections from the beginning of 2026 and sought clarification on the ministry’s cumulative revenue since January.
The ministry’s representative subsequently referred members of the committee to the consolidated Central Bank of Nigeria report and the Federation Account Department’s documentation.
Customs Misses Target By N144bn
While NRS collections were boosted by petroleum-related receipts, Customs recorded a considerably weaker performance.
The NCS generated N317.75 billion in August, consisting of N277.89 billion in import duty, N23.49 billion in excise duty and N16.38 billion from Common External Tariff levies.
The amount was N144.13 billion below the 2026 provisional monthly budget of N461.88 billion. It was also N20.51 billion lower than the N338.26 billion collected in July.
“The report showed that the actual collection for the month was lower than the 2026 provisional monthly budget of N461,881,759,506.77 by N144,129,308,442.49 and lower than the previous month’s collection of N338,259,303,178.43 by N20,506,852,113.76,” the OAGF said.
The Customs representative informed the committee that the Central Bank of Nigeria transferred the entire N317.75 billion collected during the month to the Federation Account.
The meeting also revisited outstanding NCS fees collected in June but not reported at the July FAAC meeting.
The Director of the Federation Account Department requested an additional four weeks to reconcile the outstanding figures, with the scope of the exercise expanded beyond June to cover Customs fees from January through August 2026.
Chairman of the Forum of Accountants-General, speaking for members and with the approval of the meeting chairman, granted the request.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
