President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made it clear from his first day in office that increasing government revenue would be a major priority of his administration.

During his inauguration on May 29, 2023, at Eagle Square in Abuja, Tinubu stunned Nigerians when he declared, “Subsidy is gone,” signalling the end of the fuel subsidy regime. The decision, alongside the unification of the foreign exchange market, became the cornerstone of the administration’s economic reforms.

The reforms sharply increased the cost of living and weakened the naira, but they also significantly boosted government earnings. Tinubu argued that the measures were necessary to free up funds for infrastructure, social services, and long-term economic recovery.

Figures from key revenue agencies show that government earnings have risen substantially since the reforms began.

The Nigeria Customs Service recorded major growth in revenue collection between 2023 and 2025. The agency generated ₦3.21 trillion in 2023, ₦6.1 trillion in 2024, and ₦7.28 trillion in 2025, surpassing its annual targets in both years.

Similarly, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, now renamed the National Revenue Service, reported record tax collections driven largely by reforms in tax administration and increased contributions from the non-oil sector.

The agency collected ₦12.37 trillion in 2023, ₦21.6 trillion in 2024, and ₦28.3 trillion in 2025, exceeding government targets in each year.

Speaking in Abuja last September, Tinubu declared that Nigeria had met its 2025 revenue target ahead of schedule and claimed the country no longer needed to rely heavily on borrowing to finance the budget.

Former Finance Minister Wale Edun and Vice President Kashim Shettima also stated on separate occasions that states now have stronger financial positions due to increased federal allocations resulting from the reforms.

However, despite the rise in revenue, concerns remain over the government’s financial management and growing debt profile.

The Federal Government has continued to borrow heavily, while pensioners and contractors have repeatedly protested unpaid entitlements and outstanding debts outside the Finance Ministry in Abuja.

Questions have also been raised over poor capital budget implementation. Critics note that only about 25 per cent of the 2024 capital budget was reportedly implemented because of funding constraints, while large portions of the 2025 budget were rolled over into 2026.

Analysts have further criticised the government’s practice of implementing multiple budgets simultaneously, arguing that it makes transparency and monitoring more difficult.

At different points in 2025, the Federal Government was reportedly implementing the main 2025 budget, a supplementary budget, the 2024 budget, and the 2024 supplementary budget concurrently.

Although the administration promised to streamline the budgeting process in 2026, both the extended 2025 budget and the 2026 budget are still being implemented simultaneously, raising fresh questions about fiscal coordination despite the reported revenue gains.