Sunday Dare, spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu, has said Nigeria’s internally generated revenue (IGR) has climbed by 411 percent within two years, moving from ₦711 billion in May 2023 to ₦3.635 trillion by September 2025.
He explained that in May 2023, the country was close to a financial breakdown. “A little over two years ago, Nigeria stood dangerously close to a fiscal cliff. Federation revenue was just ₦711 billion. Debt servicing consumed nearly all that government earned. Deficits were ballooning. Our economy risked being trapped in a vicious cycle of borrowing just to survive. In fact, many feared that Nigeria was inching toward insolvency — unable to service its debts, unable to fund development, unable to inspire confidence at home or abroad,” Dare said.
According to him, the story has now changed. “By September 2025, Nigeria’s story is transformed. Federation revenue has surged to ₦3.635 trillion — a remarkable 411 percent increase in just over two years. This leap is not an accident. It is the product of deliberate choices, bold reforms, and the steady hand of leadership. And this is where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s savvy came in,” he added.
Drawing parallels to Lagos, Dare recalled Tinubu’s track record as governor. “For those who remember Lagos in 1999, the parallels are striking. Then, Lagos was a state crippled by low revenues, struggling to meet its obligations, dependent almost entirely on federal allocations. But Governor Tinubu charted a new course. He built the foundations of an internally generated revenue machine that today makes Lagos the fifth largest economy in Africa.”
He said Tinubu achieved that by relying on his financial background and reform mindset. “He did not achieve this by chance. He drew on his professional background as a finance expert, an accountant who had cut his teeth in the oil and gas sector, and a man who had worked in Nigeria and America, understanding how modern systems deliver results. He combined technical knowledge with political courage — modernizing tax administration, broadening the revenue base, and showing that transparency and accountability could unlock prosperity. That same vision, that same courage, is what he has brought to the presidency.”
The breakdown of revenue performance shows significant gains. Dare said, “Today, the NNPC, once shrouded in opacity, is a contributor — remitting ₦111 billion. The NUPRC has grown its collections nearly fivefold, from ₦125 billion to ₦745 billion. The Federal Inland Revenue Service has shattered records: oil taxes up 571 percent, non-oil revenues up 599 percent, crossing the trillion-naira mark for the first time in history. VAT revenues have more than tripled. Customs revenues doubled. Even the Electronic Money Transfer Levy, modest as it seems, has grown by 127 percent.”
He warned that without the turnaround, the economy would have collapsed. “Let us be clear about what was avoided. Without this turnaround, Nigeria would be drowning in deficits. Debt service would have overwhelmed the treasury. Investor confidence would have collapsed. Our country would have faced the humiliation of sovereign default,” he said.
According to him, Tinubu acted with boldness in Abuja. “President Tinubu, with the same clarity of vision he brought to Lagos, acted in Abuja. He removed distortive subsidies. He harmonized exchange rates. He digitized processes. He blocked leakages. And most importantly, he applied political will — the ingredient without which reforms remain mere policy papers.”
Dare noted that the outcome has restored economic confidence. “The result is a Nigeria that is no longer staring into the abyss of insolvency, but standing on the firm ground of resilience. A Nigeria that now has the resources to fund infrastructure, strengthen healthcare, expand education, and restore hope,” he said.
He added that the president’s leadership style has been consistent across his career. “President Tinubu’s journey — from boardrooms in America, to legislative halls in Nigeria, to the governorship of Lagos, and now to the presidency — has always been about one thing: using knowledge, courage, and reform to turn weakness into strength.”
Dare described the current growth as a national renewal. “This is not just a revenue revolution. This is a renewal of Nigeria’s economic promise. And under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the promise is being kept,” he said.