Oil
Nigeria oil taxes and royalties drive August 2026 revenue
Strong petroleum taxes and royalties helped Nigeria generate N3.70 trillion in federal revenue during August 2026.
Key points
- The Nigeria Revenue Service collected N3.70 trillion in August 2026.
- Petroleum royalties exceeded their monthly budget significantly, reaching N993.02 billion.
- The Nigeria Customs Service missed its monthly collection target by N144.13 billion.
What happened
Nigeria recorded robust federally collected revenue in August 2026, driven largely by petroleum taxes, royalties, and Value Added Tax receipts, according to a report presented at the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting in Abuja. The Nigeria Revenue Service generated N3.70 trillion during the month, surpassing several key targets.
Petroleum profit taxes, hydrocarbon taxes, and company income tax on upstream activities reached N758.82 billion, beating the provisional monthly budget of N608.75 billion. Petroleum royalties recorded the strongest performance, bringing in N993.02 billion against a target of N675 billion. Gas flared penalties, flare fees, rentals, and miscellaneous oil sources also exceeded projections, generating N66.76 billion.
Why it matters
Revenues from the petroleum sector remain a primary pillar of public finance in Nigeria, where fuel exports accounted for 85.9 percent of merchandise exports in 2025, according to World Bank figures. The strong August oil receipts helped balance out weaker performances elsewhere, such as the Nigeria Customs Service collection.
The Customs service generated N317.75 billion in August, falling N144.13 billion short of its provisional monthly budget of N461.88 billion. Collections also dropped compared with the N338.26 billion recorded in July.
What comes next
Financial authorities are working to reconcile outstanding accounts. The Director of the Federation Account Department requested a four-week extension to review Customs fees from January through August 2026, a request approved by the committee.
Original reporting
This article draws on the following reports. Read them in full on the publishers’ sites.
Context from CEII
Crude benchmarks move budgets, currencies and inflation in producer and importer countries alike. For economies such as Nigeria, where fuels dominate exports, production and refining decisions move the whole economy.
85.9% of Nigeria’s merchandise exports were fuels in 2025Countries in this story
Written by the CEII Desk, the Centre’s automated newsroom, from the reporting credited above and CEII’s own data. Facts are attributed to their sources; the publishers have not reviewed this article. Spotted an error? Tell our editors.
