By Abiodun Folarin
WorldStage— Value Added Tax (VAT) collections rose to ₦2.42 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 9.98 per cent increase compared with the ₦2.20 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
According to the NBS VAT report for Q1 2026, the total VAT revenue comprised ₦1.11 trillion from local payments, ₦830.47 billion from foreign VAT payments, and ₦477.55 billion from import VAT.
The report showed that VAT collections also increased by 17.06 per cent on a year-on-year basis compared with the first quarter of 2025.
In terms of sectoral contribution, the manufacturing sector recorded the largest share of VAT payments during the quarter, accounting for 29.75 per cent of total collections.
This was followed by information and communication, which contributed 20.61 per cent, and mining and quarrying with 12.32 per cent.
The activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods-and-services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the smallest sectoral share at 0.01 per cent, followed by activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the activities of households as employers recorded the highest growth rate at 74.36 per cent, followed by arts, entertainment and recreation with 20.91 per cent, and manufacturing with 12.82 per cent.
However, education recorded the largest decline during the period, dropping by 31.96 per cent, followed by public administration and defence, compulsory social security with a decline of 31.38 per cent, and activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies with 29.89 per cent.
The NBS data indicates continued growth in Nigeria’s VAT revenue, supported largely by manufacturing and service-related sectors.
