The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said the Federal Government has recorded a significant revenue shortfall in the 2025 fiscal year, contradicting President Bola Tinubu’s earlier claim that Nigeria met its revenue target ahead of schedule.
President Tinubu had told members of the Buhari Organisation during a visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja that the government met its 2025 revenue target as early as August, stressing that the country was no longer relying on borrowing to fund its budget.
“Today I can stand here before you to brag: Nigeria is not borrowing. We have met our revenue target for the year and we met it in August,” the president had said in September, attributing the achievement to improved non-oil revenue performance.
However, Edun said the government has only realised about ₦10.7 trillion out of the projected ₦40.8 trillion revenue for 2025.
The minister disclosed this on Tuesday during an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committees on Finance and National Planning, convened to review the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
The engagement followed the transmission of the MTEF and FSP to the House by President Tinubu last Wednesday for legislative consideration.
According to Edun, the Federal Government had projected ₦40.8 trillion in revenue to finance the ₦54.9 trillion 2025 “Budget of Restoration,” aimed at stabilising the economy, enhancing security and rebuilding prosperity.
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He said actual revenue performance had fallen far below expectations.
“The current trajectory indicates that federal revenues for the full year will likely end at around ₦10.7 trillion, compared with the ₦40.8 trillion that was projected,” Edun told lawmakers.
The minister attributed the shortfall largely to weak oil and gas revenues, particularly lower-than-expected collections from Petroleum Profit Tax and Company Income Tax from oil and gas companies. He also cited underperformance across several non-oil revenue streams.
Edun further disclosed that the Federal Government borrowed about ₦14.1 trillion during the year to bridge the funding gap created by the revenue shortfall, raising concerns about the sustainability of public finances.