The 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) generated a combined N5.15 trillion in internally generated revenue (IGR) in 2025, representing a 41 percent increase from the N3.65 trillion recorded in 2024.
Gatekeepers News reports that the figure is contained in data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showing that the states and FCT generated an additional N1.5 trillion in IGR during the year.
Analysis by TheCable Index showed that pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) remained the largest source of revenue, increasing from N1.88 trillion in 2024 to N2.64 trillion in 2025.
The N2.64 trillion generated from PAYE accounted for 51 percent of the total IGR recorded by the states and the FCT during the year.
Revenue generated by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) followed, rising from N968.16 billion in 2024 to N1.36 trillion in 2025.
Combined, PAYE and MDAs revenue accounted for about 78 percent of the total IGR generated by the states and the FCT.
Lagos recorded the highest IGR during the year at N1.77 trillion, representing about 34 percent of the total revenue generated by the 36 states and the FCT.
The state was followed by Rivers with N428.4 billion, Enugu with N406.8 billion, the FCT with N356.3 billion and Ogun with N252.4 billion.
At the other end of the table, Yobe recorded the lowest IGR at N16 billion. Ebonyi followed with N17.2 billion, while Sokoto and Taraba generated N20.5 billion and N28.2 billion, respectively.
PAYE records N757.3bn increase
The increase in PAYE revenue was one of the biggest contributors to the overall growth in IGR.
The states and FCT generated N757.3 billion more from PAYE in 2025 than in 2024, representing a 40 percent increase.
Revenue from MDAs also increased by N389 billion, rising from N968.2 billion to N1.36 trillion.
Together, the two revenue sources accounted for more than three-quarters of the N1.5 trillion increase in total IGR recorded between 2024 and 2025.
Other major revenue sources also recorded growth during the year.
Withholding tax increased from N391.6 billion to N503.5 billion, while direct assessment rose from N87.1 billion to N112.6 billion.
Revenue from other taxes climbed from N201.6 billion to N300.2 billion, while local government area (LGA) revenue increased from N39.4 billion to N65.8 billion.
Stamp duties, road taxes record over 100% growth
Some of the fastest percentage increases were recorded in smaller revenue categories.
Stamp duty receipts more than doubled, rising by 112 percent from N52.6 billion in 2024 to N111.6 billion in 2025.
Road-tax revenue also more than doubled, increasing by 109 percent from N23.9 billion to N49.9 billion.
Capital gains tax, however, recorded the smallest increase among the listed major revenue streams, rising by 17 percent from N10.6 billion to N12.4 billion.
Despite the sharp percentage increases in stamp duties and road taxes, their combined increase was about N84.9 billion — significantly lower than the N757.3 billion increase recorded in PAYE.
Lagos generates more than other top four combined
Lagos’ N1.77 trillion IGR exceeded the combined N1.44 trillion generated by Rivers, Enugu, the FCT and Ogun.
The state also accounted for more than half of the total PAYE collected across the states and the FCT.
Lagos generated N993.3 billion from PAYE in 2025, compared with N359.2 billion recorded by Rivers and N320.1 billion generated by the FCT.
However, the composition of internally generated revenue varied significantly across jurisdictions.
In Enugu, for instance, MDAs revenue stood at N355.3 billion, compared with N25.3 billion from PAYE.
Ogun also recorded higher MDAs revenue than PAYE, generating N141.1 billion and N73.7 billion, respectively.
In Lagos, however, PAYE revenue of N993.3 billion was more than three times the N292.6 billion generated from MDAs.
The 2025 figures indicate a substantial increase in IGR across Nigeria’s states and the FCT, although much of the growth was concentrated in a few major revenue sources.
PAYE remained the largest single source, accounting for more than half of the N5.15 trillion collected. While some smaller revenue streams recorded higher percentage growth, the largest addition to state revenues came from taxes deducted from workers’ salaries.
